Karabakh Proposed Status of Autonomous Republic - Ilham Aliyev

Azerbaijan is ready to grant Nagorno-Karabakh the status of an autonomous republic, the Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Russian TV journalist Dmitry Kiselyov.

 "We can compromise on issues of self-government, and if we agree, it may be an autonomous republic. The Armenian leadership is well aware of that, but manipulating public opinion and distorting the essence of negotiations, it presents the matter so that Azerbaijan wants to destroy the Armenian population or to expel it. It is not so," said Aliyev.

He further noted that Azerbaijan will not agree to independence for Karabakh and the issue of territorial integrity is not subject to discussion.

"We will never agree to Nagorno-Karabakh's independence, but a reasonable compromise is possible: the security of Nagorno-Karabakh people, their livelihoods, self-government, the implementation of various investment projects on the part of Azerbaijan, and peaceful cooperation between the two nations on the condition of liberation of territories outside the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region," he said. The main reason for the unresolved conflict is Armenia's refusal to agree to Karabakh's autonomy and to let Azerbaijani refugees to the territory from which they were expelled. -02D-