[ad_1]
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that those who demand to agree to the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh should recognize the independence of French Corsica and Marseille, as well as give independence to the Basques.
France, which commented on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, should recognize the independence of its city of Marseille, “where almost half of the population are Armenians.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told the Al Arabiya TV channel in an interview, the transcript of which was published on October 4 by the press service of the head of state.
He stressed that Nagorno-Karabakh, which belongs to Azerbaijan, is an occupied region.
Aliyev pointed out that France could proclaim Nagorno-Karabakh in Marseille and proclaim the independence of the French island region of Corsica.
“May the Basques give independence (people living in northern Spain and southwestern France. – “GORDON”). Why are they demanding the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh? What right do they have of us to demand this of us? They must stop these accusations. They must stop attacking Azerbaijan and damaging our reputation, “said the President of Azerbaijan.
He advised opponents to “look in the mirror.”
October 1 Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump issued a joint statement, which called on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to the negotiating table without preconditions.
On the same day, Macron said that French intelligence has information on the penetration of militants of jihadist groups from Syria into the conflict zone in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In an interview with Al Arabiya on October 4, Aliyev denied the information that the militants were fighting on the side of Azerbaijan. “There are no foreign fighters in Azerbaijan, and I told the French president that our army consists of almost 100,000 people,” explained the head of state.
In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh, with the support of Armenia, declared its independence from Azerbaijan. This led to hostilities that lasted until 1994. The armed conflict ended with the signing of the Bishkek Protocol on Armistice and Ceasefire, but from time to time armed clashes broke out between the parties. During the conflict, more than 30 thousand people died in the region. Azerbaijan considers Nagorno-Karabakh as a territory occupied by Armenia.
On September 27, 2020, the biggest conflict in recent years broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accused Armenia of “large-scale provocation”, bombardment of Azerbaijani army positions and announced the beginning of a “swift counteroffensive”. The Armenian authorities, in turn, declared that the Azerbaijani army had launched an offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh. During the conflict, the parties used tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft.
Aliyev and Pashinyan emphasized on September 29 that the countries are not ready for negotiations on the resolution of the conflict. But on October 2, Yerevan announced that it was ready to negotiate a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
[ad_2]
