President Aliyev: "Armenian leadership should clearly understand that Azerbaijan will never cede its territory"

"Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission said EU recognizes and supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told in the interview to journal "La Lettre Diplomatique".

President said the EU position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has found its description in the European New Neighborhood Policy action plan, APA reports.

"It says that territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Azerbaijan will contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability in Europe. Unfortunately, Armenia ignores EU's and other organizations’ positions on this issue. Armenia violates all norms and principles of the international law. Armenia ignored four UN Security Council resolutions which demanded immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from occupied territories. Armenian has occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories. Armenia pursued ethnic cleansing policy in Karbakh and adjacent regions which led to more than one million Azerbaijanis becoming refugees and IDPs. Armenians held internationally unrecognized, illegal referendums in Nagorno Karbakh. Such policy is the violation of international law norms. EU, Council of Europe, OSCE Minsk Group co chairs and Turkey condemned the recent referendum in Karabakh."

Azerbaijani President stressed that Nagorno Karabakh is Azerbaijan's historical territory.

"The UN and international community recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. That is why the conflict should be settled within territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, giving Nagorno Karabakh high autonomy. National minorities live in many countries. But this does not mean that you have right to separate the territory of country. If Armenians began to demand self-determination in the countries where they are national minority what will happen? How many new Armenian states will emerge? Armenian leadership should understand that Azerbaijan will never cede its territory. We hope that Armenian side will take a constructive position and withdraw from Azerbaijani territories or we will have to think over military ways for the conflict solution. Today Azerbaijan is stronger than Armenian in many spheres," the head of state concluded.