KHANKENDI, Azerbaijan, July 19. One of the topics we discussed in Abu Dhabi was the extremely low level of trust between the sides, which is completely understandable. As for us, our position has never changed. In 2003, I said ‘Karabakh is our land!’ and I have been saying it consistently for the past 22 years. But the Armenian position has shifted. So what is the guarantee that it won’t change again? Is there such a guarantee? … I don’t have one. The guarantee must be international legal norms and documents that will, as I said in Abu Dhabi, seal the coffin of separatism with reinforced concrete, said President Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum, Trend reports.
The head of state emphasized the need to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group.
“The logic is simple. If the Armenian side believes that the Karabakh conflict is over – and the Minsk Group was created specifically for the Karabakh conflict – then it must be dissolved. For that, changes must be made to the Armenian constitution to remove the declaration of independence that contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan,” he stated.
President Aliyev also said that the text of the peace treaty has been agreed upon, and the idea of initialing the document was put forward by Azerbaijan.
“In principle, we are not far from sealing that coffin lid once and for all and moving on to a normal life. I’ve said it before: you live your life, and we’ll live ours. Only this way can a more or less acceptable situation gradually emerge in the South Caucasus – so that the three countries may eventually begin discussing the possibility of at least some form of cooperation,” the head of state added.