The format of negotiations with Armenia cannot be changed - Ilham Aliyev

Baku / 14.03.19 / Turan: The format of negotiations with Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be changed the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking on Thursday in Baku at the opening of the Seventh Baku Global Forum on the topic: "New foreign policy." He noted that representatives of international organizations made statements on this matter. "A statement about the impossibility of changing the format of the talks was voiced recently by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and before that by high-ranking representatives of the European Union," he said.

The President of Azerbaijan noted that the representatives of Armenia are trying to change the format of the talks, which is an attempt to block the talks.

"Negotiations should not be for the sake of negotiations and should lead to the liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani territories. The principle of self-determination should not be carried out at the expense of the territorial integrity of the state," said the president.

Aliyev reiterated that the status quo is unacceptable, and to change it Armenia must withdraw its troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The proposal of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the need for the participation of representatives of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh, voiced during his visit to Brussels, was negatively accepted by representatives of the European Union. In particular, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Frederick Mogherini said at a meeting with N. Pashinyan that negotiations should be held without preconditions, and European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and enlargement talks Johannes Hahn said that there was no need for that.

On March 1, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group made a statement in which they noted the unacceptability of changing the format of the negotiations. -71D-