Aliev: "The war with Armenia is ongoing" and "the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh regime will never be given a legal status".

The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev said that the war with Armenia is ongoing. "The first phase of the war ended. If Armenia doesn't want the second phase to start, then it should make correct conclusions and withdraw from the occupied lands by itself. Only then it can be on the map as an independent Armenian state."

Aliev was speaking at an official event marking the anniversary of the establishment of the first Azerbaijani Republic on 28 May 1918.

President Aliev said, "We are frequently hearing about confidence-building measures from the co-chairing countries [of the OSCE Minsk Group]. The most effective confidence-building measure is withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from the Azerbaijani territories. There is no other confidence-building measure. As long as the lands are under occupation, the war is considered unfinished." 

President Aliev accused Armenia of wanting to maintain the status quo even though the Presidents of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries have repeatedly said that the status quo is unacceptable. The President said that Azerbaijan's territorial integrity has never been and will not be a subject to negotiation.

The President said that Armenia should withdraw from the occupied territories in order to take a breath. "Otherwise, the fate of this country will be very dark. We will never accept the current situation. We will allocate funds for strengthening our military capabilities as much as we need and further purchase the most modern equipment."

source: commonspace.eu with agencies

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Tensions continue between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Tensions continue between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Tensions have again increased between Pakistan and Afghanistan. At least 28 civilians were killed after Pakistan launched air strikes and sent ground troops into Afghan provinces along its border on Sunday, the United Nations Afghan mission (UNAMA), has said. A further 49 were injured and women and children were among the victims, according to UNAMA. Afghanistan's Taliban government said civilian homes were hit and described the attack as a "cowardly act" and an "atrocity". Meanwhile, Pakistan said it had targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces. The neighbouring countries agreed to a ceasefire last October following weeks of deadly clashes and an agreement that has since fallen apart. Casualties were concentrated in Mandokhail, a village in the Paktia province, according to Taliban officials. Afghanistan's Taliban government put the civilian death toll at 36 and said more than 160 had been injured. Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar said 29 militants had been killed in an operation responding to "recent terrorist attacks against innocent people". The BBC has not independently confirmed figures from either side. The attacks come a day after three members of the Sindh Rangers, a Pakistani paramilitary force, were killed at their headquarters in Karachi, according to Pakistan's military. Three militants also died in the suicide attack, and Pakistani officials said they had arrested a fourth, who was an Afghan. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the TTP, claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack. Both the TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar are banned in Pakistan, and by the UN, because of their involvement in past attacks. Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harbouring terror groups that carry out cross-border attacks, a claim the Taliban government rejects.

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)