BAKU, Azerbaijan (Combined Sources)–”This is the last chance for Armenia to leave the occupied lands voluntarily for the sake of its own future and its own security,” threatened Azeri President Ilham Aliyev Tuesday during the inauguration of a center for the so-called “Azeri Community of Nagorno-Karabakh,” reported the Turan news agency.
The threat comes two days after Aliyev held talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who urged both sides to refrain from “use of force or the intention of use of force” to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In his lengthy remarks, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan had accepted the updated Madrid Principles drafted by the OSCE Minks Group that is mediating the peace process.
He said the time had come for Armenia to adopt the principles, accusing Yerevan of deliberately delaying the process.
The Azeri President said his country’s growing economic and military potential and the strengthening of its position in the international arena will help it restore its territorial integrity.
“Today our army is able to solve any task,” the Azerbaijani President said. Aliyev, however, did not touch upon the mechanism of development of the final legal status of Nagrono-Karabakh during his speech.
In related news, Azerbaijan has denied Armenian claims that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev presented his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts with a new international plan to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at their meeting in Saint Petersburg last month, reported Radio Free Europe.
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian referred to them as “a new version of the Madrid principles” of a Karabakh settlement at a joint news conference in Yerevan with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday.
President Serzh Sarkisian likewise spoke of “the latest version” of the proposed framework accord as he met with the visiting French, Russian and U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on Saturday. A statement by his office said the document was “presented in the course of the Saint Petersburg negotiations between the presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.”
The Azei Foreign Ministry dismissed these statements late on Monday. “Even though Russia plays a large role in this process and the Russian president has taken part in several meetings [between Aliyev and Sarkisian,] proposals are drawn up only by the [Minsk Group] co-chairs,” Azerbaijani news agencies quoted the ministry spokesman, Elkhan Polukhov, as saying.
“Updated Madrid proposals exist only in the form of a document, and they were submitted to both parties last year,” Polukhov said. “Only various approaches were discussed in Saint Petersburg. The statement by Nalbandian is only aimed at distracting the Armenian and international publics from the essence of the issue.”
The three co-chairs made no mention of the Saint Petersburg in a statement issued after their latest tour of the conflict zone. They instead reiterated the U.S., Russian and French presidents’ joint calls for the parties to “take the next step and move towards completing work on the Basic Principles to enable the drafting of a peace agreement to begin.” They also urged the sides to “strictly observe the 1994 ceasefire and exercise restraint along the Line of Contact.”
“During their visit, the Co-chairs also presented to the parties their plan to undertake a mission to the occupied territories in this fall, which was accepted in principle,” added the statement.
Aliyev should read and analyze the article below …
Please click on Artsakh map!!
Above “Artsakh map” did not function, please see URL below…
virtualjudah.wordpress.com/…/
Aliev thinks that Karabagh belongs to his mongol ancestors, well his mistaken, THAT IS ALL ARMENIAN LAND and so IS MT. ARARAT AND OTHER AREAS, OCCUPIED BY TURKEY.
That idiot is going to start the war. I know it. I sincerely hope it ends badly for him. But I’m afraid the Azeri troops will kill many Armenians before it’s over. There is too much hatred in the air.
Hye, Random Armenian, not if the oil pipelines start leaking, in several locations… Manooshag
manooshag,
I bet you Europe and US would be more than willing to help the Azeris trying to prevent that and protect the pipelines, and at the same time stand back and watch as Azeris bomb and kill people in Artsakh.
If we look at it from Aliyev’s perspective, we can understand the rhetoric(and that’s all it is). He has nothing to show to his people. Empty promises of the return of stolen land.
What’s the downside for him. Everyone is so concerned about being balanced that he takes advantage of the situation by making outrageous and insulting comments. He snows his own people for a little while longer ; hoping for the process to pressure Karabakh into concessions. Every time he speaks like this, it becomes clear to third party observers that Karabagh could never return to Azeri administration. We know that,but he is doing a good job of convincing “neutral” parties
I think even turkey is fed up with what it sees as its dysfunctional little brother on the caspian.
What Aliyev Doesnt realize it that during the Karabagh War of 93-94 they had a “stronger” army, there army vs ours was 4:1 and at the end of the war their loses were 5:1 . They had a military of 80000 Vs 20000 Arms And we still bombed them heck out of them.
And now, just cuse he has new equipement in his arsenal he thinks its gonna make a difference,. his soldiers fight for no cause,. Armenian soldiers fight for the truth and their ready to put their lives on the line to protect what our ancestors died for.
I stand in salut to the Armenian Army,.
I say : BRING IT ON YOU DIRTBAGS BUT THIS TIME YOU MIGHT LOSE YOU COUNTRY!!!!
GETSE HAYASTAN EV TASHNAGTSOUTYOUN.!!
DID ALIEV MENTION WHEN TURKEY WAS GOING TO RETURN OUR ANCIENT LANDS/???? MAYBE SOMONE COULD ASK HIM..Hmmmmm.
Fellow Christian countries who are the most powerful in the world, would never allow that to happen. Muslims always get USED FOR OIL and then dumped.
How’s that BP spill by the way?/
DON’T BE AFRAID FOR ARMENIANS, BE AFRAID FOR AZERIS’ BECAUSE GOD/ALLAH WILL NEVER PROTECT THEM. i know that for a fact. And there is no hatred in the air, at all..
AMEN….. AND THEY HAVE BEEN LEAKING IN OTHER COUNTRIES AS WELL, HMMM I WONDER WHY….
i BET you there will be mysterous, leaks and damages in Azeri pipelines, Europe and US cant control accidents (LOL),
hell, they cant control their own spills off of New Orleans,…how tragic for people and nature, not to mention the financial damage andt the emotional damage on people….
When will the Armenian authorities ever counter by saying that Karabagh will never be returned ever period and that even though the Armenians don’t want war they are ready, willing and perfectly able in case the Azeries start it.