Azerbaijan thinks borders cannot be changed by means of use of force in XXI century

• Wednesday, June 20, 16:36

First of all, the Armenian troops should be withdrawn from the "occupied" territories of Azerbaijan to gain a breakthrough in the Karabakh peace process. This would open new opportunities for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Elman Abdullayev told Turan when commenting on the joint statement issued by the Presidents of the United States, France and Russia during the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos. 

"The first step in the peace process should be withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan. This will automatically remove the tension on the front lines. As regards the call of the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries "not to use force", the force has already been used by Armenia, which has occupied the territories of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan thinks that the borders cannot be changed by means of use of force in XXI century", Abdullayev stressed.

He said that Azerbaijan fully supports the mediators' call not to postpone important decisions needed to achieve lasting and peaceful settlement. Like the co-chair countries, Azerbaijan advocates changing the status quo, which cannot and will not be maintained any longer. 

To note, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, Barack Obama, Francois Hollande and Vladimir Putin, issued a joint statement Monday during the G-20 Summit in Mexico. The three presidents urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to fulfill their promise and work toward progress on the Nagrono-Karabakh conflict resolution process. The statement added that "Military force will not resolve the conflict and would only prolong the suffering and hardships
endured by the peoples of the region for too long.  Only a peaceful, negotiated settlement can allow the entire region to move beyond the status quo toward a secure and prosperous future.