Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday strongly criticized the United Nations, saying its decisions on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict "merely remain on paper".

President Aliyev’s statement, referring to the four UN Security Council resolutions urging an immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijani territory, occupied since a brutal war in the early 1990s, came at an international conference in Baku devoted to the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s independence.

Aliyev told foreign nationals joining the event that the Karabakh conflict poses a threat not only to Azerbaijan but the whole region.

"Azerbaijan’s lands have been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces for over 20 years. And international organizations are incapable of ending this aggression, of punishing invader Armenia."

The Azerbaijani leader said Yerevan was directly responsible for the unresolved conflict.

The president said further that Azerbaijan is proud to be a tolerant country where many nations and followers of different religions peacefully co-exist.

He added that the autonomy models successfully applied in Europe could be introduced in Nagorno Karabakh as well.

Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno Karabakh, backed by Armenia, declared so-called independence in 1991, which has not been recognized by the international community.

Azerbaijan has proposed granting a high-level autonomy to Nagorno Karabakh, but after its Azerbaijani residents, ousted from the region during the Karabakh war, return home.

Regarding Azerbaijan’s relations with the European Union, President Aliyev said the country is cooperating with the 27-member bloc not only in the energy sector but also in other fields.

"Our relations will be further strengthened," Aliyev said. "These relations are based on mutual respect and confidence."

The international conference in Baku brought together over 300 political figures from 58 countries, including representatives of the European Parliament, PACE, OSCE, Euronest, Nobel prize winners and businessmen.

The two-day event was organized by the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan.