Azernews.Az

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian claims that if Azerbaijan takes steps to invest in Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, the Armenian population of the occupied region may change its attitude toward the prospect "of staying within Azerbaijan."
"I have offered, to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, to make investments there in order to demonstrate that Azerbaijanis are truly interested in the welfare and a safe life in Garabagh," he said in an interview with foreign journalists. "Perhaps, after that, Garabagh residents will be in favor of living within Azerbaijan following a referendum [on the status determination]."
However, Sarkisian alleged, "If, some day, a miracle happens and Garabagh ends up within Azerbaijan, in my opinion, very soon, not a single Armenian will remain in Garabagh."
Upper Garabagh is an Azeri region that has been occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted some one million Azeris from their homes. Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Years of peace talks have brought few tangible results.
Repeating Armenia`s stance on the latest developments in Georgia, and its attitude toward separatist regimes, Sarkisian said Yerevan will do everything possible to maintain its normal cooperation and ties with Tbilisi.
"So long as we have not recognized the independence of Upper Garabagh, we can`t recognize South Ossetia, Abkhazia or Kosovo either. The reason for that is that we are in the process of negotiating with Azerbaijan and are seeking a solution that would be acceptable for both sides. I want to remind you that in the case of Kosovo and other cases, independence was announced only when there was no other way."
Touching on Turkish President Abdullah Gul`s recent visit to Armenia in response to his invitation, which Yerevan saw as an opportunity to forge ties with the neighboring country, Sarkisian welcomed the talks he had with Gul and spoke warmly about bilateral relations. CNN Turk TV quoted Sarkisian as saying that his country has no territorial claims against Turkey.
"I am very surprised to hear talk about these claims. This view has been widely spread, for some reason. But which Armenian official have you heard saying we want land from Turkey? Definitely, no such statements have ever been made," Sarkisian maintained.
He claimed that Yerevan`s key priority was not to clash over the developments in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 that Armenia has labeled as "genocide," but to achieve the opening of its border with Turkey, which has been closed for many years due to historical disputes between the two countries.
Sarkisian said his country welcomes Ankara`s proposal to set up a joint commission of historians to study the alleged World War I era killings of huge numbers of Armenians, but Yerevan supports resolving the issue only after Armenian-Turkish relations have been normalized.
Elnur Aslanov, head of the Azerbaijan President`s Office of the department for political analysis and information support, said his country will invest in Upper Garabagh, but only after its territories under Armenian occupation are freed.
"Upper Garabagh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, which, as is known, is occupied by neighboring Armenia. Naturally, we will make investments there, as these are our territories, and develop infrastructures, construct buildings, schools, hospitals, restore everything that was destroyed by the aggressor, and return the displaced persons to their homes, as soon as the occupied territories are returned to Azerbaijan."