"Russia, as an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair country and a neighboring country, should intensify its efforts for the early resolution of the conflict. I remain fully convinced that if there is serious Russian engagement on this issue, the status quo will change, stability will be restored in the region, and the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories will be ensured". This was stated by Azerbaijan Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov in an interview with the news agency APA on Tuesday (17 January).
Mammadyarov was commenting on earlier references to the various issues connected to the conflict made by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Mammadyarov reiterated what President Ilham Aliyev had stated recently in an interview with the Sputnik News Agency regarding the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh. "The President stated that there can be no compromise on Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, however, a compromise is possible on matters of local self-rule of Nagorno-Karabakh; if we agree, Nagorno-Karabakh can become an autonomous republic in the future", Mammadyarov said in his interview with APA.
source: commonspace.eu with APA news agency
photo: Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar mammadyarov (archive picture)