BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 26
Trend:
The decisions that we have made in the matter of settling disputes and disagreements will contribute to making the situation in the South Caucasus more secure and predictable, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said making a press statement jointly with President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Trend reports.
“Thank you very much, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich. First of all, let me once again express my gratitude to you for today's meeting and your efforts to create a favorable atmosphere in resolving the issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A year has passed since the well-known trilateral Statement that put an end to the war between the two countries, and this year we can characterize it positively as a whole. I would like to once again take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the peacekeeping mission in Karabakh. During this year, there were no serious incidents in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces.
Of course, many important events have taken place this year. This is the second time we are meeting in this format – we met at the beginning and we are now meeting at the end of this year. I do not want to repeat what Vladimir Vladimirovich said about issues related to delimitation, demarcation and unblocking of transport arteries. A very detailed, I would say, sincere conversation on these issues has taken place today. We openly discussed our plans, openly discussed issues of concern to both sides. And the main thing is that the decisions that we have made in the matter of settling disputes and disagreements will contribute to making the situation in the South Caucasus more secure and predictable.
Also, as Vladimir Vladimirovich has noted, we have also discussed humanitarian issues. Azerbaijan has always consistently advocated the observance of all humanitarian norms, whether during the hostilities and after. I must say that after the end of hostilities, more than 100 detained Armenian servicemen were handed over to the Armenian side, including one that was handed over this morning – a wounded soldier who received medical assistance from Azerbaijani doctors, as well as one civilian who, having lost his way, got lost in our territory. In other words, we have always proceeded from the principle of humanism and intend to continue to work in this direction. Also, from the Armenian side, we are also seeing a disposition to create preconditions for the situation in the region to be more predictable. I have repeatedly said that we in Azerbaijan are determined to turn the page of a long-term confrontation with Armenia, to begin a stage of normal interaction, and I think that it is in this format that we are achieving our goals.
Russia is a friend, a strategic partner for Azerbaijan. I would even say that it is more than a strategic partner for Azerbaijan. The level of trusting relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, among other things, contributes to the fact that we find solutions on the most sensitive issues with Armenia. I think that the outcome of our meeting will produce good results, which will not be long in coming, and the situation in the region will become safer and more predictable. Once again, Mr. President, thank you for the invitation and for today's meeting,” the head of state said.