Azerbaijan, Baku, August 29 / Trend /
"All occupied territories will be liberated sequentially, our compatriots will return to these areas. The entire infrastructure will be rebuilt there, and in the next stage, the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh will be defined. We have always said that Nagorno-Karabakh, of course, should have the status, but we do not see this status outside the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan state will never agree with it," said the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, attending an Iftar party on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan hosted by Head of the Caucasian Muslims' Board Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade at his residence on Friday, AzerTAj state news agency reported.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7 districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
The position of State remains unchanged - this issue can be resolved only within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, said Ilham Aliyev.
"People in Nagorno-Karabakh can live with a high status of autonomy within Azerbaijani state. Today these principles are taken as a basis. The negotiations are conducted on the basis of these principles, and any agreement can only be based on these principles. We have always said and say today that the issue can be resolved only gradually. Proposals that are now the topic of negotiations envisage step-by-step solution," said the President.
The progress achieved in the negotiation process is the result of purposeful policy, Azerbaijani President said. "I can say that our efforts are already yielding first results in the negotiation process," said President Ilham Aliyev.
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