Interview of President Ilham Aliyev with Azerbaijani TV Channels in Prague

The Azerbaijani TV channels on October 6 interviewed the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Prague. During the interview, the head of state mentioned we were slowly getting closer to peace and he appreciated Charles Michel’s efforts to that end. He also emphasized the significance of the quadrilateral meeting organized by Charles Michel and Emmanuel Macron in reaching a peace agreement.

Talking about the commencement of the peace process, President Ilham Aliyev stated that the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia have held their first meeting, and the ministers should meet for the second time soon. The head of state asserted that both countries’ working groups will be able to come together to prepare the text of the peace agreement after the second meeting of the foreign ministers.

President Ilham Aliyev informed that during the quadrilateral meeting he indicated Armenians had planted at least 1,400 landmines since the end of the Second Karabakh War, another crime against us, another act of terrorism, more than 250 Azerbaijanis were killed or seriously injured after the war and he called for an end to Armenian terrorism which still continues against us. The head of state affirmed that the entire international community clearly accepts the reality of Karabakh being an inseparable part of Azerbaijan, neither party has questions about the five principles declared by Azerbaijan and these five principles are being accepted, he also stated that Armenians living in Karabakh are our citizens and we will not discuss their fate or future life with any country. President Ilham Aliyev also asserted that: “This is our internal matter, and Armenians will enjoy the same rights as citizens of Azerbaijan. In any case, they can be assured that their lives integrated into Azerbaijani society will be much better than their present life.”

At the end President Ilham Aliyev touched upon the issue of the Zangezur corridor and stated that it is the obligation of the Armenian side under the November 10, 2020 Statement and Armenia still denies to fulfill its obligation, he drew attention to the Azerbaijani side still tolerating this issue, but the head of state firmly declared that this matter will be an integral part of the coming discussions that will be held between the heads of the states.