Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved based on UN Security Council resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani lands, the Azertaj state news agency quoted President Ilham Aliyev as saying in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Aliyev said the conflict remains unsolved despite years of negotiations. He stressed that the issue must be solved in accordance with international law.
"Unfortunately, Armenia does not comply with international law and this is the main reason why the conflict has not been resolved. The talks have had some progress, but not enough," Aliyev said.
He added that the OSCE Minsk Group stated that Nagorno-Karabakh's recognition cannot be a matter of debate after the conflict in Georgia. The events must not set a precedent, the group added.
"But from the geopolitical point of view, if your neighbors are at war, it is of course not beneficial for you. Georgia and Russia are our neighbors and we maintain good relations with them both," he said.
"The Armenian-Azerbaijani talks have nothing to do with the difficulties that we faced during the war in Georgia," Aliyev said. "It was clearly not an easy time for us because the bulk of our energy sources are transported through Georgia. The war was a major obstacle. We had to look for other routes to transport our oil. The more access that we have to world markets, the better. But the situation in Georgia has stabilized. There are no more transportation problems in the country. In addition, as I mentioned, there are other routes."
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