«The conflict (Karabakh – ed.) will soon have to find a solution, and the status quo - to change." This statement was made by President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of the first half of 2016 on the socio-economic development, as well as the challenges ahead.
Aliyev stressed the importance of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with the principles of international law and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
"The only solution is a phased settlement," said the President, noting that achieving this requires a lot of pressure of the OSCE co-chairing countries on Armenia.
The President recalled the April fighting, which became the result of an Armenian provocation and a counter-offensive of the Azerbaijani Army, which liberated 2,000 hectares from the occupation.
The Head of State also spoke about the impact of the global economic crisis on Azerbaijan, on the implementation of measures for the development of the non-oil sector, the production of export goods, and the opening of new jobs.
The President said that despite the decline in GDP for the first 6 months of this year, there was an increase in industry and agriculture, including the non-oil sector.
Over the past 6 months the national economy was invested 6.3 billion USD. For foreign investors, Azerbaijan continues to be an attractive country. In the first half of the year 78,000 permanent jobs were opened. Much has been done in the implementation of social measures. "2016 will be a year of deep reforms in the history of Azerbaijan," the President said.
As in previous speeches at meetings of the Government, the President's speech did not include critical assessment of the crisis situation in the country and the problems hindering the reform process. -03D04-
Politics
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On 28 December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.
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On December 28 president of Ukrain called to the president of Azerbaijan İlham Aliyev.
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The preliminary investigation into the case of Russian oligarch and former "state minister" of the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, has been completed. According to a joint statement by the Prosecutor General's Office and the State Security Service of Azerbaijan, Vardanyan has been charged under the following articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code: Article 100 (planning or waging aggressive war), Article 107 (deportation or coercion of the population), Article 109 (persecution), Article 112 (deprivation of liberty in violation of international law), Article 113 (torture), Article 114 (mercenary activities), Article 115 (violating laws and customs of war), Article 116 (violating laws and customs of war), Article 214 (terrorism), Article 214-1 (financing terrorism), Article 218 (organization of a criminal community), Article 228 (illegal trafficking in weapons), Article 270-1 (creating threats to aviation safety), Article 278 (violent seizure of power or violent retention of power, violent change of the constitutional order of the state), Article 279 (creation of illegal armed formations), Article 318 (illegal crossing of the Azerbaijani state border).
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On December 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as reported by the Kremlin's press service. During the conversation, the issues related to the crash of the AZAL passenger plane on December 25 near the city of Aktau were discussed in detail. "Vladimir Putin expressed his apologies for the tragic incident occurring in Russian airspace and once again conveyed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured," the statement emphasized.
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