President of Azerbaijan: "The only thing that we did not manage to attain is the resolution of the Karabakh conflict"

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev spoke in his interview for "Izvestiya", ITAR-TASS and Rossiya TV channel.

- Several months ago you have gained an overwhelming victory at the second presidential elections. What do you think you have failed to do through these five months?

- It is much easier to say what has been done through this years. The only think that we have failed in is the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. This is the most important issue of the development of our country. In all of the rest spheres we attained what we wanted.

- How would you explain the investment attractiveness of Azerbaijan?

- The oil and gas sector was our main card at the stage of the statehood establishment. Those investment projects, which were implemented, have created an image of Azerbaijan as a very reliable partner. There have not been a single case of our failure to fulfill our commitments.

- What do you think about the further strengthening of the defense potential of the state?

- We pay a great attention to this issue. Though, naturally this demands great financial resources. Today the budget defense spendings are on the first place. But it seems that great problems may  appear without the due attention to the army. And until the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is resolved, this policy will continue. Through a short period of time we managed not only to create a strong material and technical basis of the armed forces and also to raise the capacity of the army as well as its professionalism. We have created a military and industrial complex, which Azerbaijan has never had. Several years ago we created the Ministry of Defense Industry and today we have several plants that produce defense production, corresponding to world standards.

Naturally, this leads to consolidation of our military potential and also, I am sure, to the stability in the region. Today, the Azerbaijani army is a powerful structure that is able to settle any tasks and primarily on the liberation of the occupied lands. And if Azerbaijan had such a military potential in the times of the USSR collapse, our lands would have never been occupied. Today it is difficult to imagine that someone may impose its will on Azerbaijan. We will further pay a great attention to these issues until our lands are liberated.

- Which do you think are the key principles of the resolution of the Karabakh conflict? On the one hand, this is among the most protracted conflicts in the post-Soviet area, on the other hand, some achievements are attained. We have a meeting with the Armenian counterpart in Saint-Petersburg and the Moscow declaration was signed...

- I agree that there are definite achievements and I would even say: there are definite hopes that the conflict may be settled peacefully. Almost fifteen years have passed since the ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994. Our adherence to the peace process is the main argument, witnessing our constructive position, because otherwise we would have settled the issue differently. The moment when it will be clear to us that the talks are senseless will probably become decisive in the search of other ways of the conflict resolution. But we consider that resources of the negotiation process have not expired yet.

We always said that the conflict can be settled only by phases. The first stage should envision liberation of the Azerbaijani lands, inder occupation. These are seven regions around Nagorno Karabakh. Our refugees and internally displaced persons should return there. International guarantees of security of the population to reside in this region are necessary. The next stage should define the legal status of Nagorno Karabakh. This status must be defined in the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and considering the high level of autonomy for the population of Nagorno Karabakh that has never been monoethnic like it is now. We consider that today's format of talks reflects these approaches. Today there is a new leader in Armenia and there is a hope for a more constructive approach of Yerevan to this issue.

- You studied and lived in Moscow and spent several years of youth there - which are as a rule the most pleasant years of life. What remembrances do you have of Moscow?

- Naturally, these years remained in my memory forever. Through the period of my studying in Moscow I had many friends and fellows. I have many warm and good memories of Moscow. I lived in Moscow for 15 years and I can say that I have no problems with understanding nuances of the Russian policy, understanding the state of mind of the Russian people.

Izvestiya newspaper