The sides have entered a crucial stage of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated at a cabinet meeting on the socio-economic development in the 1st quarter of 2010.

“The conflict can only be settled within international law. The four resolutions of the U.S. Security Council must be honored, the occupation forces must be withdrawn from the occupied territories, Azerbaijani citizens must return to all the territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh, whereafter Nagorno-Karabakh’s status must be determined. This status is possible only within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Azerbaijan will never agree to any other status. No state will recognize Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence without our consent,” Aliyev said.

According to him, Azerbaijan’s position has from the outset been that the highest autonomy status can be granted to Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azeri leader clamed that Azerbaijan has never implemented an ethnic cleansing policy nor does it plan to.

“If the Armenian side accepts the proposals reflecting the norms of international law, the Azerbaijani community must live with the Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijanis there will, on the one hand, ensure historical justice and, on the other hand, meets international law,” Aliyev said.

According to him, Armenia has to state its position. “We are at the stage when we have to respond to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ proposal,” the Azeri leader said.

He reminded the attendees that Azerbaijan officially accepted the proposal based on the revised Madrid Principles. “Very few points arouse our concern in this proposal. The proposal should, with a few exceptions, be taken as a basis for a peaceful agreement,” the Azeri leader said.

If Armenia rejects the proposals, negotiations will be senseless. “If we see there is no hope, the negotiations must be suspended, and the process will enter a new stage. It is yet too early to say what kind of stage it is, but, in any case, we are ready for any scenario,” Aliyev said. He expressed hope that Armenia will accept the proposal, “in which case we will conduct more active peace talks, and they may enter a new, positive stage.”

As regard the Armenian-Turkish process, the Azeri leader stated it is the two nations’ business and “no state should interfere – neither our state nor others.”

“Let the two states settle their relations. Of course, in settling their relations they will consider the ongoing regional processes, history and historical relations,” Aliyev said.

T.P.