Aliyev Vows Nagorno-Karabakh Will Remain Part Of Azerbaijan
February 01, 2006
Armenia President Kocharian (left) and Azerbaijani President Aliyev at talks in August 2005 (file photo) (AFP)
Aliyev told the Cabinet in an address published in state newspapers today that Azerbaijan will never compromise on its territorial integrity.
He said no decision will be made, as he put it, "today, tomorrow or in 100 years allowing Nagorno-Karabakh to be removed from Azerbaijan."
He saluted Azerbaijani diplomats for defending Baku's position, and said the government's increasing military expenditures had helped enforce its message.
An uneasy cease-fire has held since 1994, the end of a six-year war over control of the mainly ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan that killed 30,000 people and displaced a million.
Aliyev is due to discuss the conflict with Kocharian in Rambouillet, France, on 10 and 11 February.
(AP)