Armenia wants to include the issues related to Armenians "living in Azerbaijan" in the peace agreement: It won't happen, it's impossible - Aliyev

"Today, I consider Armenia's talks about peace to be a kind of manipulation," the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said this at the meeting with the delegation led by the European Union Special Envoy for Eastern Partnership Dirk Schuebel, the office of the President of Azerbaijan informs.

At the meeting, Schuebel noted that he visited Azerbaijan after his visit to Armenia and added that the main message he received from the meetings held in Armenia was that Armenia is also interested in achieving peace.  In response, Ilham Aliyev said:

 "Today, I consider Armenia's talks about peace to be a kind of manipulation, because if they really wanted peace, they would have responded to our proposal. We were the ones who immediately after the end of the war proposed to start the negotiations on the peace treaty. Armenia was very hesitant at the initial stage of this process, and now they are talking about peace, but we do not understand what peace means for them. However, our position is very clear... we have to go two ways - the process of regulating Azerbaijani-Armenian relations, as well as issues related to the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan and Karabakh in terms of rights and security," Aliyev noted.

He said that yesterday during the telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, they talked about all that.

"We fully understand that there should be two ways and they should not be mixed, but the statements from Armenia are highly contradictory. They say they recognize our territory and sovereignty. Not only they say, but they also sign in Prague and Sochi. This means the sovereignty of our entire territory.  We all understand what sovereignty is. At the same time, they want to include the problems related to the Armenians living in Azerbaijan in the peace treaty. It won't happen. It is impossible. We will not agree to this.  Therefore, we need a very clear position of the Armenian government regarding its agenda. I recently said that if they want peace, we want peace too. If they do not want peace, then it is their choice. We have not had peace for thirty years, and Armenia should not forget how it ended," Aliyev said.

Ruben Vardanyan commented on Aliyev's statements

I welcome the desire of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to start a direct dialogue with Artsakh. Artsakh should be a subject in this process, Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan wrote about this on his Facebook page.

 "I also welcome the creation of a new format of direct negotiations with international mediation. Among the international mediators, among Russia and the USA, France should definitely be included, whose senate's resolution adopted a few days ago contained a clause on the recognition of Nagorno Karabakh. Let me remind you that France is also a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group.
I would also like to propose to switch to a more constructive tone and get clarifications on what, according to Mr. Aliyev, is my "clear agenda".  I have repeatedly emphasized that I renounced Russian citizenship in order to avoid accusations that I can protect someone else's interests in Artsakh, apart from the interests of the people of Artsakh. I think I fully meet the criteria of a negotiator proposed by Mr. Aliyev: "lives in Karabakh and wants to live there."

War always brings war.  Sometimes this happens even after several generations.  Aggression today is a ticking time bomb for the future generations of our two peoples. It means that the leaders of both sides must take full responsibility and, however difficult it may be, sit down at the negotiating table and stop the bloodshed," he wrote.

A serviceman shot by the enemy: His life is not in danger

On November 17, at 11 a.m., a soldier of the N military unit of the MoD of the Republic of Armenia, private H.A., has received a gunshot wound from an enemy shot in the combat position located in the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border zone.

The health condition of the wounded serviceman is medium severity, no danger for life.

U.S. Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group Philip Reeker referred to his meeting with Aliyev

U.S. Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Philip Reeker commented on the latest aggression of Azerbaijan against Armenia and the prospects of the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“I was in the region during the September 13-14 fighting and met with President Aliyev on September 14 to urge an end to the violence”, Mr. Reeker said during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. “My meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders paralleled urgent and around-the-clock engagements with leadership of the two countries by Secretary Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Assistant Secretary Donfried, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Erika Olson, as well as by our colleagues at the Department of Defense. Those engagements have continued since, and the joint efforts of the United States, EU, and partner countries have paved the way for a series of meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders to discuss peace”, he said.

Mr. Reeker added that despite recent hostilities, they are encouraged by the pace of engagement by Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership in the peace process. “The leaders have met for negotiations on multiple occasions in recent months as part of an EU-facilitated peace process, most recently in Prague on October 6. The Prague meeting produced two meaningful outcomes that have the potential to pave the way for peace: mutual recognition of the 1991 Almaty Declaration as a basis for border discussions, and acceptance of an EU “Monitoring Capacity” with the potential to build confidence amongst the sides and deescalate potential hostilities”, he said.

Other News

• The delegation led by the special envoy of the European Union for Eastern Partnership issues, Dirk Schuebel, visited Azerbaijan, according to the Azerbaijani mass media.