President Aliyev: "No trade-offs in Karabakh issue during my presidency"

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said on Monday he was in favor of an active policy in the settlement of the conflict around the mostly Armenian populated Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno Karabakh.

The President emphasized a need to use all possibilities for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, noting that "Azerbaijan will continue cooperation with international organizations on that issue."

He told a parliament session that co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk group for Nagorno Karabakh arrived on Monday in Baku and stressed that his country "is not going to reject that format of the settlement."

"However, we believe that the activity of other international organizations can also contribute to a peace process," Aliyev said. At the same time he stressed that "Azerbaijan will never allow the setting up of a second Armenian state on its territory."

"Azerbaijan will never sign a peace agreement that would not meet the national interests of the country," he said. "As a President, I will never sign it," he emphasized.

The president also said that under a 2007 draft budget, Azerbaijan's defense expenditures will grow 17.8 percent, and will reach 900 million dollars.

"The growth of military expenses must not worry anyone. This is our sovereign right. Besides, a growth of the military budget cannot automatically lead to a war. We must ensure our security and be ready for any development of the events," the President said. Itar-Tass