Sunday, June 26 2016 02:44

Negotiations should be substantive, meaningful and should not be carried out for the species, for the sake of imitation, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with servicemen  during the opening of a new administrative building of General Staff of Armed Forces, APA reports.

 

“The positive moment is that a month after the Vienna meeting on the initiative of the Russian side in St. Petersburg held a regular meeting. We view this meeting as positive. Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the official position of Azerbaijan and this position is, of course, open to the public,” Aliyev said.

 

He said the Saint Petersburg meeting had positive results: “Hopefully, the process will continue at an accelerated pace. Once again, we are going to these talks without accepting any conditions. Negotiations should be substantive, meaningful and should not be carried out for the species, for the sake of imitation. Following the meeting adopted a joint statement, which was also presented to the public. The declaration set out everything, including ways to resolve the issue. At the same time, we discussed the issue of enlargement of the office workers of the personal representative of the OSCE chairman. True, there is not specified the number, but I can say that if today 6 people working there, this figure may be increased up to 2 - 2,5 times. That is, there we are not talking about large mission.”

 

As for the mechanism to investigate incidents, the president of Azerbaijani said there is no need for it at this stage. “Firstly, these arrangements do not exist. No one specifically says us what these will consist of. In this case, consider this question today would be wrong. Secondly, what is its meaning? If it is meant "freezing" of the conflict and the adoption of any additional measures in the line of contact, Azerbaijan, of course, will not do it. This can be in the continuation of positive dynamics in the negotiation process, so that we see concrete results, so we know the terms of liberation of our territories - in this case can be developed various mechanisms, only in that case this issue can be considered”.

 

The Azerbaijani leader [pointed at the situation on the Line of Contact: “It was noted that in recent times on the contact line of troops the situation has stabilized, the ceasefire restored, which is regarded as a positive phenomenon. In this case, there is no need to apply a mechanism for investigating incidents. That is, and this condition was not accepted. I want to reiterate - we should negotiate on the basis of the subject matter. Aggressive policy of Armenia should be put an end. We need to know when the process will begin the liberation of our territories. This process will certainly be. The Azerbaijani side, and I, in particular, has repeatedly pointed out that we can only step by step to resolve the conflict. Because otherwise it is impossible. Armenia is constantly trying to complicate the situation, to break the negotiation process and the option of a phased settlement. But, in our opinion, is the most appropriate way. It can lead to an early solution of the problem. The principled position of the Azerbaijani government on the issue is known. This position has never changed and will not change. The issue should be resolved within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh will never get independence; and second Armenian state will not be created on the historical lands of Azerbaijan. This is the main question. As for the status of Nagorno Karabakh is a matter of the future. Of course, a certain status can be granted. As a part of Azerbaijan, have the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. In Europe and other countries have a progressive experience and different statuses. However, this status should not violate the territorial integrity of our state”.

 

In the meantime, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Secretary of State of the United States of America and State Secretary for European Affairs of France released a joint statement on May 16.   

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States of America John Kerry, and State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir, representing the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, met today with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to advance a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

They reiterated that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The Co-Chairs insisted on the importance of respecting the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements. 
The Presidents reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict. To reduce the risk of further violence, they agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism. The Presidents also agreed to the expansion of the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office.  Finally, they agreed to continue the exchange of data on missing persons under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to which the Presidents committed during the Paris summit of October 2014. The Presidents agreed on a next round of talks, to be held in June at a place to be mutually agreed, with an aim to resuming negotiations on a comprehensive settlement," reads the statement.