BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 9. In a situation where Azerbaijan and Armenia have already initialed the peace agreement, its official signing should not take long, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev during an interview with the Azerbaijani press in Washington, Trend reports.
"Our position has always been consistent, logical, and reasonable, and we have never backed down from our position. Because we never set unrealistic or unacceptable conditions for Armenia. But for some reason, our reasonable proposal on the abolition of the Minsk Group was met with a negative reaction. However, we have repeatedly tried to explain that as long as Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and says itself that Karabakh is Azerbaijan, the de jure continuation of the Minsk Group is completely illogical. It has already lost its functional essence, and we will never allow it to be revived in any form or take on a different form. Therefore, I believe that the initialing of the peace agreement and the appeal for the abolition of the Minsk Group have removed the first obstacle. Let me repeat – this peace agreement was initialed in the White House today. Therefore, I have no doubt that when the Constitution of Armenia is changed – the Armenian side is stating itself that such changes should be made – the territorial claim against Azerbaijan will be removed from it. Otherwise, it will be disrespectful to the United States of America, first of all. Everyone knows this, and our position is understood by almost all leading international actors, including the United States of America. Because when a peace agreement is signed, every issue must be resolved and the groundless territorial claims against us must be removed. Therefore, I have no doubts about this issue. Let me reiterate – when this happens is Armenia's own business. We cannot put forward any proposals here. However, I do believe that the sooner the better because I think we can’t waste time. In a situation where Azerbaijan and Armenia have already initialed the peace agreement, its official signing should not take long," said President Ilham Aliyev.