Baku will not retreat from principal stance on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, that is “restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and withdrawal of Armenian occupants from captured lands”, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Dec. 24 in the course of his visit to Khirdalan city.

“Azerbaijan will not retreat from this principal position. Mobilizing our whole potential, we will strive to early and just solution to the problem in accordance with Azerbaijani interests and international norms. Unfortunately, 2009 was not a decisive year, though high hopes were put on Karabakh conflict settlement. However, due to Armenia’s non-constructive position we failed to achieve results. Meanwhile, presently all the sides to the conflict support the solution of the issue in frames of country’s territorial integrity. Even Armenian side was compelled to sign political document stipulating the settlement of the conflict in the framework of territorial integrity,” Aliyev stated.

Azerbaijani President also reiterated army’s readiness for the resolution of the conflict by military means, adding that wishes to tackle the issue “peacefully, through negotiations.” “Azerbaijani army and society should be ready to liberate our lands from occupants any time in every possible way,” Aliyev underlined.

According to him, distance between Armenia and Azerbaijan or “more specifically gulf — either economy or other sectors is increasing and deepening.”

A.G.