BAKU – Azerbaijani forces have broken the line of contact with Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh in several places and are determined to fulfill their strategic goals, Hikmet Hajiyev, the foreign policy adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, said today.
Khadzhiyev told Reuters that Baku would be ready to talk to the Karabakh Armenians only when they raise the white flag and disarm.
He said that Azerbaijan has no military goals in neighboring Armenia.
“Azerbaijan’s intention is to close the chapter of animosity and confrontation,” Hajiyev pointed out.
Which is enough, is enough, he added.
“We can no longer tolerate having such armed forces on our territory and a structure that daily questions the security and sovereignty of Azerbaijan,” said Hadjiyev.
He stated that Baku believes that what he called the anti-terrorist operation will achieve its strategic goal of securing full sovereignty over its territory.
Earlier today, Azerbaijan announced the implementation of “local anti-terrorist measures” in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh confirmed that the Azerbaijani army is carrying out rocket and artillery strikes, trying to break through the line of contact, Interfax reported.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously stated that Azerbaijani armed forces are shelling the entire territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in order to establish control over populated areas.
According to him, “the Azerbaijani army launched a ground operation in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR)”.
The administration of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, announced that it is ready to meet with representatives of the Armenian community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the city of Yevlakh, under certain conditions.
“To stop the anti-terrorist measures, the illegal Armenian armed groups must raise the white flag, hand over all their weapons, and the illegal regime must disintegrate itself.” Otherwise, the anti-terrorist measures will be continued until the end”, according to the statement of the administration, which was obtained by Interfax.
Regarding the invitation of Stepanakert, the capital of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh, to negotiations, Baku stated that “the administration previously invited representatives of the Armenian population living in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in our country to a dialogue to discuss reintegration issues.”
“But they refused it every time,” claims the administration, reports Tanjug.
