Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend K.Ramazanova / Armenia, who occupies 20% of Azerbaijan's territories as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, should voluntarily release these territories to avoid a new outbreak of war in the Nagorno-Karabakh, said the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on 2 July at the graduation ceremony of officers of the Police Academy of the Interior Ministry of Azerbaijan, which was dedicated to the 89th anniversary of the creation of the Azerbaijani police.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries started in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. Since 1992 to the present time, these territories have been under Armenian occupation. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are holding peaceful negotiations.
The President stressed that from a military point of view, Azerbaijan is the strongest State in the region and the Armenian side should understand it. According to the President, Azerbaijan will never accept the occupation of its lands and is prepared to free its territories even through military conduct irrespective of its negative results. "Nobody wants loss, but Azerbaijan is getting stronger and is ready for any operation at any moment. We will never be satisfied with the maintenance of the current situation," Aliyev said.