Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

President Ilham Aliyev has said if Armenia recognizes Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, then long-term peace will come to the region.

He made the remarks in an interview with CNN Turk on August 14.

"If Armenia is ready for this, if it is ready to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, which is recognized by the whole world, then, of course, long-term peace will come to the region. We want it, and at the same time, specific proposals to achieve it are already on the table," he said.

Peace agreement

Aliyev said that Baku has repeatedly stated that Azerbaijan wants a peace agreement with Armenia. However, Azerbaijan has received no positive response from Armenia yet.

"It seems that Armenia is not ready for this or is opposed to it. I said that it would be a huge blunder and that they would regret it. Because we do not have to keep this proposal on the table forever. If they object to it, let them say it openly that they do not want to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. In this case, we will pursue our policy accordingly," the president said.

He stressed that it is in Azerbaijan's interests to open roads, establish the Zangazur corridor, restore all trade relations, i.e. bring peace to the South Caucasus after a long break. Aliyev stresses that the corridor will serve Armenia's interersts as well as it can also communicate with both Iran and Russia by rail and this connection will be a new opportunity for them. It will also be a new opportunity for Turkey, Azerbaijan, the region as well.

The president noted that the construction of the Armenian-Iranian railway has been discussed for 20 years perhaps. And yet nothing is happening because this project requires at least $3 billion.

However, Armenia can use the territory of Nakhchivan – there is already a railway line between Nakhchivan and Iran, he added.

The president underlined that Azerbaijan does not need a new war with Armenia.

"We consider Armenians living on the territory controlled by the Russian peacekeeping mission to be Azerbaijani citizens who have lost their way. They are not too many. According to accurate information, their number is less than 25,000. Of course, they must also be integrated into Azerbaijani society. Azerbaijan is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country, and many peoples live here like one family, including the Armenians. There are Armenians living in Baku today," he added.

Armenian troops being sent to Karabakh

Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has recently identified that Armenian troops are being sent to Karabakh via the Lachin corridor controllled by the Russian peacekeepers.

"Our Defence Ministry made an official statement a few days ago [August 11] to put an end to this. Weapons and servicemen cannot be sent from Armenia to the territories controlled by Russian peacekeeping forces. This contradicts the 10 November trilateral statement. Unfortunately, it continues to this day. We have repeatedly expressed our position verbally. But since it did not work, we officially declared it," he added.

The head of state noted that Azerbaijan has all technichal means to watch the events taking place in the Lachin corridor and the areas under the Russian peacekepers' control.

"The Lachin corridor is right before our eyes. When in Shusha, you can see the Lachin corridor. There is a place there and all the cars can be seen from above. The distance from there is probably 10 meters. Of course, we have technical means and cameras there. We are also following the events in the Lachin corridor and in the areas controlled by Russian peacekeeping forces. We know the exact number of cars going to Khankandi. Recently, there were reports in our media, including the fact that in the last month - from 11 July to 8 August, about 5,000 people left Khankandi for Armenia but did not return. About 20,000 people left the city and 15,000 people entered it. So we even know the number of people. Of course, this must stop. There is no logical basis for this," he stressed.

Aliyev warned if Armenia is preparing for a new war then Azerbaijan will take preventive measures. He reiterated that "if Armenian fascism tries to raise its head ever again, we will crush it again. The defeat in the second Karabakh war should be a lesson for them".

Azerbaijan's expectations from Russia

Commenting on his expectations from Russia, the president said that Azerbaijan wants all the provisions of the trilateral statement to be implemented as it was signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

"Most of them have already been implemented. But there are some issues that still remain outstanding. This is our expectation. Russia, as a neighbor of Azerbaijan and a close ally of Armenia, certainly plays a special role in this region. This is natural. We hope that Russia continues to spare no effort for the security of the region and take steps to ensure lasting peace," he said.

Aliyev said that Azerbaijan's another expectation is that Russia will not arm Armenia.

"We have brought this issue to the attention of Russian officials. We are worried about that. The war is over. The people of Armenia have come to terms with this situation. The Armenian government has also come to terms with its own defeat and the recent parliamentary elections in Armenia showed that. So the people have already given preference to a defeated party. This is an unprecedented sight in history when a defeated party receives popular support. Under such circumstances, of course, it does not make any sense to arm Armenia," the president said.

He noted although this has not taken place yet, but there have been some statements by Russia.

"A few days ago, during a meeting with the Armenian defence minister, the Russian defence minister said that the process of sending Russian weapons to Armenia had begun. This is a very worrying issue. Also, Armenia’s new minister of defence made very irresponsible statements that if the Azerbaijani side trespassed the Armenian border by one centimeter, then they would open fire. In other words, it seems that the second Karabakh war has not been a lesson for everyone yet. If this is the case, then we are ready to teach them another lesson. Therefore, we hope that Russia does not arm Armenia because there is no need for that," he added.

Aliyev said that the area in Khankandi under the Russian peacekeeping mission contol is now a safe area. he noted that simultaneously the situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border with Armenia is sometimes worrying, but in general it is stable. He said that Azerbaijan wants Russia to take into account Baku's concerns in this matter.

"Because no matter how many weapons are given, the balance of powers will not change. Over the past 30 years, Russia provided Armenia with billions of dollars worth of free weapons – some of which are now on display in our Military Trophy Park– but the Armenian army has been completely dismantled. We will allocate as much money as we need to arm our army, and we did that. We simply think that the war is over and there is no need for that. We were not and are not the ones who initiated the process of rearmament of the region. We hope that other partners take appropriate steps," he added.

Turkish-Azerbaijani unity

The president recalled that the Turkish-Azerbaijani unity is a regional factor.

"The Turkish-Azerbaijani unity is already a regional factor. Maybe someday it will become a global factor because we are already forming allied relations with other countries. This worries certain countries. They will try to go between us, they will try to provoke, create some fabrications. Therefore, the next generation must follow this path," he said.

Aliyev hailed Turkey's political and moral support to Azerbaijan during the war. He added that Turkey and Pakistan stood by Azerbaijan in that period.

The president said that modern weapons purchased from Turkey, including the UAVs, greatly facilitated Azerbaijan's work and prevented many casualties.

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