Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made quite a number of plain statements on the prospects of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Specifically, he stated that the “wihdrawal of Armenian troops from the five occupied regions” will “immediately follow the signing of a treaty” between the parties to the conflict. Aliyev stated that the OSCE MG Co-Chairmen propose “a phased withdrawal of troops from the occupied territories outside Nagorno-Karabakh”.

Accordng to him, “in the first phase, as soon as the treaty is signed, the troops will be withdrawn from five regions. As regards the two other regions, which are, as it were, between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, (Kelbajar and Lachin), troops will be withdawn in five years, after the treaty has come into force.” “We consider it to be a compromise-based term,” the Azerbaijani leader said.

“Now we see a much more effective role of Russia as a mediator in settling the conflict. This is both the Moscow Declaration on the ways of resolving the problem on principles of international law and international organizations’ resolutions and the Armenian-Azerbaijani presidential meetings organized by Russia. Recently we received one more proposal to meet in Russia. That meeting was effective as well. We see Russia’s sincere desire to help the conflicting parties reach an agreement. We see certain results. Although the process of negotiations is difficult, we are progressing in the right direction,” Aliyev said.

As to what can serve as a prerequisite for normalizing the relations, the Azerbaijani leader stated that he understands the concern of the Nagorno-Karabakh population. “We understand the concern of those living in Nagorno-Karabakh. We are ready to consider the issue of land communication, for it to be reliable and not cause any concern. We understand the other side’s concern. As regards Nagorno-Karbakh’s status, it is matter of future. The proposals we are discussing, accepting and agreeing on do not contain the issue of the status. Of course, we do not see any possibility of Nagorno-Karabakh being an independent state. Never will Azerbaijan agree to that, and the Armenian side is well aware of that. The Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region existed in Soviet times, and its ten-member Bureau included only one Azerbaijani. It was mainly governed through Moscow – that was Soviet reality. We should consider the future existence of the territories in question without anticipating things. At present we need to cope with the aftermath of the conflict, ensure the security of the people of all nationalities and restore communication. Only after that is reconciliation possible. Azerbaijanis and Armenians did live together in Azebaijan and Armenia without any problems. Reconcilitation must be established, we cannot live in a permanent state of war. We do not want war though we are increasing our military potential. But the reason is that we have not reached a settlement during the 15-year period of cease-fire.”

As respects the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, Aliyev said: “Nagorno-Karabkh will have some status”.