The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has commented on the statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.

“The Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region is an integral part of any plan for settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,” Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdulayeva told haqqin.az.

“We have always said and would like to state once again that the return of the Azerbaijanis exiled from that region may create real opportunities for the settlement of the conflict within the boundaries of Azerbaijan and on the ground of a high-level status of self-governance that envisages the co-existence of the two [Azerbaijani and Armenian] communities in peace and safety,” she said, adding that this first and foremost requires substantive talks over the settlement of the conflict and that “the Armenian occupying forces must leave Nagorno-Karabakh and the 7 regions of Azerbaijan”.