The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains a serious threat to regional peace and stability, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated at the OSCE Summit in Astana, NEWS.am correspondent reports from Astana.

Armenia is still occupying not only Nagorno-Karabakh, but also seven regions around it, that is 20% of territory. One million people became refugees. Armenian committed military crimes and military crimes in Khojalu. One hundred children are among the innocent victims in Khojalu, Aliyev said.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, but Armenia is still using force. Azerbaijan remains committed to a peaceful settlement, hoping for efforts to produce results.

According to the Azeri leader, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved on the basis of international principles.

However, Armenia prefers escalation, committing repeated violations of the ceasefire and renaming our villages and towns and destroying our monuments, the Azeri leader claimed.

According to him, the facts were incorporated in the OSCE monitoring mission’s report. Armenia is not seeking peace or conflict resolution, he said.

The Armenian side is seeking long-term status quo. Over the last 20 years, the OSCE Minsk Group has been conducting negotiations without any results. Azerbaijan is ready for further negotiations on the basis of international principles and Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Aliyev said. 

As NEWS.am reported earlier, the OSCE Summit opened on December 1 in Astana. The delegation headed by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan arrived in Astana on November 30.

The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries (the President of the Russian Federation Dmitri Medvedev, the Prime Minister of France Francois Fillon, and the Secretary of State of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton), the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and the President of Armenia Serge Sargsyan issued a joint statement. They agreed that the time has come for more decisive efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

They called for additional steps to strengthen the ceasefire and carry out confidence-building

The Karabakh conflict is one of the focal points discussed at the summit. Commenting on the issue, the speakers use wordings of the Armenian side.

In her turn Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated the Karabakh conflict should be resolved based on non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity and self-determination, as well 6 elements announced by Presidents of US, Russia and France. They are a whole, and any attempt to select one of the principles is non-constructive and will not contribute to the settlement.