The status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be overcome, but this requires withdrawing the Armenian troops from the region, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Monday, RIA Novosti reports.

“As Russia and other OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs stated, the conflict has become protracted; the status quo [in the Karabakh conflict] is unacceptable and we fully support this statement,” Aliyev said at the meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“But to change the status quo, the de-occupation of the Azerbaijani territory, which had been under occupation for over 20 years, should be launched,” the Azerbaijani leader stressed.

At the same time, he expressed gratitude to the Russian President for coming up with the initiative of trilateral meeting between the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents, as well as the constructive role which Russia plays in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.