Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Expresses Surprise at Ushakov’s Statement

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed surprise and regret at the statement of the Russian President aide Yuri Ushakov on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

The day before Ushakov said that Moscow does not feel great optimism about the settlement of the Karabakh conflict in the near future, but will continue to work with Yerevan and Baku.

As the official representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev said, the statement by Ushakov is contrary to the spirit of the Vienna and St. Petersburg meetings of the Presidents and the statements of the OSCE Minsk Group, voiced repeatedly at the presidential level, about the instability and unacceptability of the status quo.

Ushakov’s statement also does not correspond to the detailed discussions on the settlement of the conflict within the framework of intensive visits by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the region, Hajiyev said.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that it supports the substantive negotiations on a phased settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in accordance with the spirit of the meeting of the Presidents in Vienna and St. Petersburg.

Substantive negotiations must ensure the change of unacceptable and unsustainable status quo and the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. The status of the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan under Armenian military occupation is unacceptable. Azerbaijan will ensure its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, Hajiyev said. -06V-