Ilham Aliyev named conditions for cessation of hostilities

Baku / 03.10.20 / Turan: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with the Al-Jazeera TV channel, called the terms of the ceasefire.

“The only condition for the ceasefire is the withdrawal of the armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Let them begin the withdrawal of troops, provide us with a withdrawal schedule, undertake obligations to be approved by the mediators, observe the ceasefire and then we will do the same,” Aliyev said.

He named the destructive position of Armenia on the conflict as the main reason for the unresolved Karabakh conflict. In addition, the settlement of the conflict is hindered by the lack of pressure on Armenia by the mediators to fulfill the four UN Security Council resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

“I have always said that international sanctions should be applied to Armenia in order for it to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions. However, the mediators did not give an appropriate response to my appeals,” the President of Azerbaijan said.

As for the resumption of negotiations with Armenia, there should be partners in the negotiations. “So far, we have no partners in the negotiations represented by Armenia. I have been in the process of negotiations since 2003. Until now, I have worked with two former presidents of Armenia. We have made progress, although it has not been easy. We had different opinions, but we moved forward systematically and worked out what we had until now. After Pashinyan came to power, he rejected all previous agreements. He destroyed all the developed principles. Therefore, today all responsibility is on him and on his government. His every step was aimed at destroying the negotiation process. However, now, when he begs to negotiate, repeatedly calls world leaders and complains about Azerbaijan, world leaders must tell him that you yourself provoked Azerbaijan and insulted the feelings of Azerbaijanis. You must be responsible for this.

Several days ago, I appealed to the Armenian people, with an appeal to bring them to justice. We have no problems with the Armenian people. They are our citizens. Thousands of Armenians currently live in Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said.

 Azerbaijan considers the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to be citizens of Azerbaijan. “We invite them to live together with us, as representatives of other nations do,” Aliyev said.

The Minsk Group co-chair countries should jointly continue their work. Unless, of course, they can maintain neutrality.

“Each country may have its own position. If you are a mediator on such a sensitive issue, then you must act from a position of neutrality. Recently, statements demonstrating a change in the neutrality of one of the mediators worries us” (Macron - ed.), Aliyev said.

“If you are a mediator, you must be neutral. Otherwise, your mediation will not be accepted by us,” he added.

Since October 1, Armenia has started using long-range missiles from its territory and shelling our settlements. Thus, their launch sites became legitimate targets for us to destroy. Then they will accuse us that we are attacking the territory of Armenia. They want it. They want to involve third countries in this conflict so that these countries protect them and provide them with another 30 years of occupation,” Aliyev continued.

“The only condition for the ceasefire is the withdrawal of the armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Let them begin the withdrawal of troops, provide us with a timetable for the withdrawal, assume obligations that will be approved by the mediators, observe the ceasefire, and then we will do the same.

Why do we need military clashes? We want to resolve the issue peacefully and have proved it for 28 years. We will return all our territories and this is our legal right. This is our historical task and I am sure that we will achieve it,” Aliyev concluded. –71D-