FM: Azerbaijan stands for tangible results of negotiations

TAzerbaijan hopes for progress in 2019 in terms of Armenian armed forces withdrawal from the occupied territories of the country, FM Elmar Mammadyarov said in an interview with The Korea Times.

"My country's position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani NagornoKarabakh conflict settlement was repeatedly expressed at the highest level on all platforms. The conflict should be resolved on the basis of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders,’’ stressed Foreign Minister.

As for the legal basis of the settlement, he said this framework consists mainly of four resolutions of the UN Security Council, the body responsible for ensuring world peace and security, adopted in 1993, numerous resolutions and decisions of other international organizations, including the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement, NATO, the European Parliament, etc., as well as joint documents adopted in bilateral and multilateral formats.

Mammadyarov noted that unfortunately, the negotiations that have been going on for years have not yielded any results.

He considers that recent events in Armenia, conversations between the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia, as well as four meetings with Armenian counterpart, create certain grounds for advancing the negotiation process.

Mammadyarov said the press statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, following the last meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Paris on January 16, 2019, expressed appreciation for the ongoing efforts of the parties to maintain an atmosphere conducive to intensive results-oriented negotiations.

Mammadyarov stressed that Azerbaijan is in favor of tangible results of the negotiations, and not negotiations for the sake of negotiations, and this is the country's principled position.

"In general, I would like to note that the current leadership of Armenia must demonstrate the political will to resolve the conflict and, in accordance with the philosophy of good neighborliness, act to achieve peace, stability and sustainable development in the region. We hope that this year will be achieved progress in terms of the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the normalization of relations between the two countries. Progress in resolving the conflict, creating conditions for peace, security and stability throughout the region, opens up opportunities, above all, for economic growth in Armenia itself,” he added.

He noted that Azerbaijan ensures the security of its citizens, representing various ethnicities.

Mammadyarov stressed that in accordance with its international obligations, Baku is ready to do this in relation to his citizens of Armenian origin in Nagorno-Karabakh and to grant them the right to self-government at a high level within the internationally recognized borders of the Azerbaijan Republic.

"The Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is ready to return to their lands, and this issue was again emphasized in the recently published statement of the community. Some time ago there were contacts between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, but, unfortunately, due to the previous leadership of Armenia, these contacts were interrupted. You know, it is impossible to take the land and move with it to another place. Of course, after the settlement of the conflict, these two communities will have to live together. That is why it is important to develop and restore contacts between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Nagorno-Karabakh,’’ concluded Mammadyarov.