If there are forces in Armenia that still prevent the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, we will be forced not to recognize Armenia. Aliyev

Speaking at the 5th Congress of the Azerbaijanis Worldwide in Shushi, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev touched upon relations with Armenia․ Aliyev once again called for starting concrete negotiations with Yerevan to sign a peace treaty.

"If there are certain forces in Armenia that still think about revanchism and on this basis prevent the signing of a peace treaty and recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, then we will have to take adequate steps and not recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia," Aliyev said.

"Despite the end of the war, Armenia's territorial demands have not ended, but I am sure they will stop," Aliyev added.

Speaking about the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Ilham Aliyev noted that it was aimed not at the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but allegedly at the "occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan". Aliyev also expressed "regret" that official Yerevan continues to talk about the activities of the Minsk Group.

"High-ranking officials in Armenia are still talking about the Minsk Group. I think it has no meaning. In fact, the Minsk Group was paralyzed in 2019. If we look at the history of the proposals of this group today, we will see once again that it was not created to solve this problem, it was created to perpetuate the "occupation of Azerbaijani territories," he said.

"I'm often asked what will happen to the OSCE Minsk Group? I said that in 2022 the Minsk Group will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its creation, and then retire. However, after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, they don't even have the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary," the Azerbaijani President said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh has issued a statement on the Occasion of Holding the "5th Congress of the Azerbaijanis Worldwide" in Shoushi.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh considers extremely destructive the initiative to hold the "5th Congress of the Azerbaijanis Worldwide" in the Armenian town of Shoushi occupied by Azerbaijan, which includes obvious elements of Armenophobia and expansionism.

Such an "initiative" is also an attempt to escalate tensions in the region. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh strongly condemns the nationalist and aggressive policy of official Baku, which aims to torpedo and disrupt the peaceful settlement process of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict," the statement reads.

According to Pashinyan, the assessments on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are not justified

The next result of the negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation in the context of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the emphasis on the importance of the international mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Nikol Pashinyan said at the government session.

"And if we state that in the days preceding the Moscow visit, the Russian, French and US Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group visited Armenia, then we can say that the assessments about the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are not justified," he said. Pashinyan noted that they clearly see that all the Co-Chair countries remain faithful to their mandate on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, despite the fact that the events taking place in Ukraine have created difficulties for the joint activities of the Co-Chairs.

Pashinyan said that it's extremely important to ensure the security of Nagorno-Karabakh, the key factor of which is the uninterrupted and unhindered operation of the Lachin corridor.

"In this regard, the contribution of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to the NK is important, but on the other hand, in a number of episodes we see the need to increase the effectiveness of peacekeepers," he said.

Pashinyan said that he had informed President f Nagorno-Karabakh about the content of his Moscow talks on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"This practice is not new: I have always done this, after negotiations in Russia, Europe, Armenia, and the President of Artsakh, in turn, presented the results of these negotiations to the political elite of Artsakh. This practice will always continue, and after each round of negotiations, I share detailed information with various political circles, and have always been willing to share this content with the parliamentary opposition, but they constantly refuse such discussions for obvious reasons in order to create legends about various conspiracy theories and put these legends as a basis their activities," Pashinyan said.

Putin and Michel discussed the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh

President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of Russia Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation. Among other issues, the sides also touched upon ensuring security in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The issue of ensuring stability and security in Nagorno-Karabakh was also touched upon, taking into account the recent contacts between Vladimir Putin and Charles Michel with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan," the Kremlin Press Service reports.

"The fundamental importance of the consistent implementation of the trilateral agreements between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia from November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021 has been confirmed. Putin informed about the implementation of programs to restore economic and transport ties, as well as steps to demarcate the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and start negotiations on a peace treaty between the two countries."

The Office of the President of the European Council has not yet reported details of the telephone conversation.

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