NEW AZERBAIJAN PARTY

Q: Azerbaijan is known as a reliable partner on the international scale. The country is making a tremendous contribution to ensuring regional and global security. What can you say of Azerbaijan`s achievements and prospects in foreign policy?

A: Azerbaijan is making contribution to ensuring global security, which increases its importance as a reputable and reliable country. Being the guarantor of security in the region, Azerbaijan is making a vital contribution to ensuring energy security in Europe.

Azerbaijan`s overall development has turned the country into the regional and global hub from political, economic and cultural points of view. Azerbaijan’s international reputation has enhanced. There are excellent opportunities for the development of our international relations. The country is effectively using these opportunities. The country improved its international image and strengthened its position in the international relations system. Azerbaijan is today known as a country which is committed to democratic values, and si confidently moving forward on the path of independent development. Azerbaijan`s development is praised by the entire international community.

I would also like to emphasize the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway projects.

So thanks to a well-though out policy of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has become the regional leader and a reliable partner on the global scale.

Q: Recent escalation of tension on the frontline has once again proved that Armenia continues to carry out provocative activities and disregard international legal norms and that the international community has a double-standard approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. What do you think of it?

A: As known, sabotage groups of the Armenian army have made several assaults on positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in various directions of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the contact line of troops since the late July.

Unfortunately, norms of international law are violated in the world. What testifies once more is that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unresolved. Regrettably, our lands have been kept under occupation for years. Decisions and resolutions of international organizations are not being fulfilled.

The UN Security Council adopted four resolutions, which demand unconditional withdrawal of Armenian occupational forces from our lands. But Armenia disregards it. The OSCE, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation adopted decisions and resolutions on this problem too. Unfortunately, they have not been executed.

Twenty percent of our lands have been occupied as a result of Armenia’s ethnic cleansing policy against Azerbaijan. One million Azerbaijanis have been expelled from their homeland as a result of conflict. “Azerbaijan’s eternal and indigenous region of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven nearby regions are under the full occupation. It is a great threat to the regional processes. The norms of international law should be observed completely, Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity should be restored and the occupied lands should be liberated immediately. This military aggression damaged our cultural heritage too. All were destroyed in the occupied lands. Not only we, but also the international organizations confirmed it. As I said, the resolutions unfortunately have not been implemented. Again, we have a policy of double standards. Some UN resolutions are implemented within hours, but in our case it has been more than 20 years. There is no mechanism to deal with the situation and Armenia simply does not want to liberate any territories. It does not want to leave occupied territory; it wants everything unchanged and to keep the status quo. That is in total contradiction to the efforts of the international mediators, the OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chairs.

Q: How do you assess the results of the latest meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents initiated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin?

A: Solving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity is the key priority of Azerbaijan`s foreign policy. Azerbaijan wants the dispute to be solved peacefully. But if Armenia does not quit its policy of aggression and occupation, Azerbaijan will resort to other means. And the results of the meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Sochi on the initiative of Russian leader Vladimir Putin can be considered as another step. In Sochi, President Ilham Aliyev once again showed resoluteness to stress the necessity and importance of ensuring a soonest settlement of the conflict, and laid out Azerbaijan`s principled position. He said that Armenia`s non-constructive position must be stopped, four resolutions of the UN Security Council must be fulfilled and the occupied lands of Azerbaijan must be liberated.