President Aliyev states principles of Karabakh settlement

"A principal demand consists in that all seven occupied areas of Azerbaijan, including Kelbajar and Lachin, must be freed," he said at the opening of a settlement for refugees in a suburb of Baku on Friday.

Aliyev stressed that "there is already a general agreement about that."

"We can do it in stages, but this must not be protracted. The occupied areas of Azerbaijan must be freed in the near few years," he said.

Aliyev cited as the second demand the "return of all refugees to their homes."

The status of Nagorno Karabakh could be determined only after these two demands are met, he said.

"This status can be given only within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," he stressed.

He added that Azerbaijan was not against the temporary stationing of peacekeeping forces in the conflict area and the use of the Lachin corridor.

Aliyev said that the negotiations over these principles were going on.

He called on people not to believe speculations about details of the negotiations. Itar-Tass