Ilham Aliyev Positively Assessed Statements of OSCE and EU Representatives on Karabakh Conflict

Baku / 03.20.19 / Turan: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev declared unacceptable for Baku a change in the format of negotiations on the Karabakh settlement.

"The Armenian side raised questions about changing the format of the negotiations. However, Azerbaijan, naturally, cannot accept this," Aliyev said today in a video message to the people on the occasion of the Novruz holiday, published on the website of the state news agency AzerTaj.

He stressed that the conflict should be resolved on the basis of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and this principle is supported by the international community.

This principle is also reflected in the document on partnership priorities with the European Union, initialed last summer.

"This is a very important document. Especially considering that there are special paragraphs in it, special thoughts are reflected concerning the territorial integrity and sovereignty and the inviolability of the borders of Azerbaijan. Of course, this is a very important issue, which is of great importance especially for the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," said Aliyev.

The conflict, he added, should be resolved only within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. "Nagorno-Karabakh is our historical land, and the soonest resolution of the conflict should be based only on the norms and principles of international law. As you know, the Armenian side raised questions about changing the format of the negotiations. However, Azerbaijan, naturally, cannot accept this. At the same time, the ambassadors of the Minsk Group co-chair countries - representatives of the United States, France and Russia, made a serious statement and noted that the format should remain unchanged. Similar statements were made by high-ranking officials of the European Union. That is, it is definitely a serious signal for Armenia, and also indicates that the position of Azerbaijan is gaining even greater support," said the President of Azerbaijan. -06B-