Baku, Azerbaijan, June 26
Trend:
There is no need to use the incident investigation mechanism at the current stage on the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev June 25.
The commander-in- chief made the remarks during a meeting with servicemen and military officials in Baku.
“First, there are no such mechanisms and no one tells us exactly what it will be comprised of. In this case, it wouldn’t be right to consider this issue today,” said the president.
“The second issue is about its meaning. If it is about freezing the conflict and taking some additional measures on the line of contact, then of course, Azerbaijan won’t do that. It will be possible when positive dynamics are observed in the talks, we see concrete results and know when our territories will be de-occupied. In this case, of course, various mechanisms can be used and this issue can be considered.”
Further, the president touched upon an important issue reflected in the statement which was adopted in St. Petersburg, following the meeting of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents.
“It was noted that the situation on the line of contact has been stable in recent times and it is assessed as a positive factor. In this case, there is no need for an incident investigation mechanism. That’s to say, that condition was not accepted either.”
“I reiterate that we should hold the talks based on the essence of the issue. Armenia's occupation policy should stop. We should know when the process of de-occupation of our lands will begin, and such process of course will happen,” said President Aliyev.
“Azerbaijani side and I personally have repeatedly said that we can resolve this conflict only stage by stage, because, it's impossible to do otherwise,” said the president. “Armenia has always tried to even more complicate the situation, disrupt the negotiation process and stage-by- stage settlement. But in our opinion, it is the most suitable way. It can lead to the speedy settlement of the issue.”
Azerbaijan’s principled position on resolving the issue is clear, added President Aliyev.
“There hasn’t been and won’t be any changes in this position. I reiterate that the issue should be resolved within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,” said the president. “Nagorno-Karabakh will never be given independence. The second Armenian state will never be created on Azerbaijan’s historical lands.”