By Trend

The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and never will be the subject of negotiations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

Aliyev made the remarks at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the first quarter of 2019 and future tasks, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service.

“As for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, there is no change in our position,” the president said. “Our principled position is that this issue must be resolved within the territorial integrity of our country, on the basis of decisions and resolutions adopted by international organizations, in accordance with the Helsinki Final Act, resolutions of the UN Security Council. There is no other approach.”

“The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and never will be the subject of negotiations,” he added. “I should also note that the format of the negotiations remains unchanged. Even though there were certain attempts, they were stopped as a result of our activities. In addition, the statement made by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group on 9 March is targeted, unequivocal and once again shows that there are two parties to the conflict.”

“Therefore, I believe that this topic has already been resolved,” he added. “We will continue to stick to our position of principle, will continue to strengthen our country and army. Since the beginning of this year, a lot has been done in this direction, and this work will be continued.”