Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.31 / Trend, S. Agayeva /
It is well-known story of the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, when he tries to shift all the blame on others, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev told Trend commenting on the Armenian leader's statement.
On Tuesday Sargsyan made several statements regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and in particular the Kazan meeting's results at a meeting of the central apparatus of the Foreign Ministry and heads of the Armenian diplomatic missions abroad.
Abdullayev said Sargsyan tries to "throw a switch" to the Azerbaijani side with his unfounded statements, including on the Kazan meeting. He said such statements by Sargsyan are designed for domestic consumption, while at the external level all is discussed in another way.
"Our position remains unchanged. First Armenia should withdraw its troops from the occupied territories to resolve the conflict. This step will help giving predictability to situation in the region," Abdullayev said.
He said presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group countries (France, USA and Russia) also expressed their dissatisfaction with the status quo in their statements, which again shows that the international community's position coincides with Azerbaijan's position.
"Speaking about Armeniaphobia, it should be noted that previously the Armenian highest leadership stressed the ethnic incompatibility of the Azerbaijanis and Armenians. Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan has always demonstrated tolerance to presence of the Armenian population in the country and restoration of the Armenian Church," Abdullayev underlined.
He said with his unconstructive statements Sargsyan demonstrates unwillingness to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which also prevents peace and stability in the region.
"Sargsyan has already led Armenia to economic decline with his destructive approach," Abdullayev said.
Presidents Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan discussed the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement in Kazan on June 24. The meeting - ninth in the last three years - ended without reaching agreement on the basic principles of settlement. A joint statement issued after the meeting noted the progress towards this goal.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.