Potential of negotiations on a settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has been exhausted- Presidential Administration

Potential of negotiations on a settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has been exhausted- Presidential Administration

A top Azerbaijani official has said that the situation of "neither peace, nor war" in the Karabakh conflict cannot go on indefinitely.

Ali Hasanov, head of the public policy department at the Presidential Administration, made the comments to journalists in Baku on Tuesday. He was responding to remarks by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on 1 September that "the people of Nagorno-Karabakh made full use of their right to self-determination and gained the right to independence at the expense of their blood".

The presidential official restated Baku's position that the conflict could be solved only through Karabakh remaining part of Azerbaijan.

"We have stated many times that there is a simple formula in the process of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: the problem must be solved within the norms of international law," Ali Hasanov said.

"The Azerbaijani president has spoken about this formula many times and stated what issues are on the agenda for negotiations: i.e. the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh must be restored and the national and ethnic civil rights of all the population and peace in Nagorno-Karabakh must be secured. These norms are known and the negotiations have been continuing on these norms for several years. To put it simply, Armenia’s absence of will or the fact that it does not depend on its own will or its non-constructiveness or compulsion to non-constructiveness delay these processes."

The head of the department said a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem would have to be found sooner or later. "The situation of 'neither war, nor peace' cannot continue for long in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The internally displaced people cannot live in temporary settlements for a long time."

He said that Azerbaijan was ready to continue talks to settle the conflict.

"Azerbaijan does not think that the potential of negotiations on a settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has been exhausted. The Azerbaijani president has stated many times that 'if I feel that the potential of negotiations has ended and they are continuing only for their own sake, Azerbaijan will give up the negotiations and restore its territorial integrity by other means,'" Hasanov told journalists.

He said that Azerbaijan could not say for sure that the potential had been exhausted. "The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, as well as other institutions that participate in international peacekeeping processes, allow us to think that this problem can be resolved peacefully through pressure on Armenia."

Hasanov said he could say nothing specific about the next meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents. There has been speculation that the leaders will meet later this month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

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