When asked whether Azerbaijan could again resort to force, as it did in 2020, the adviser to the head of the republic refrained from making hypothetical forecasts.
“I would not like to comment on hypothetical scenarios. Azerbaijan is a responsible member of the international community and always acts in accordance with the provisions of its constitution and international law. We are aimed at peaceful resolution of all existing issues,” he emphasized.
Commenting on the topic of possible compromises that Baku is ready to make in dialogue with Yerevan, Hajiyev noted that the Azerbaijani side will not discuss “either with Armenia or with any third country issues that call into question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.”
“Attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of our state, including by pushing the topic of creating some kind of international mechanisms for dialogue between the central government of Azerbaijan and the ethnic Armenian minority in Karabakh, are doomed to failure,” he stated.
“Karabakh is an internal issue of Azerbaijan, and any attempt to challenge this is counterproductive from the perspective of achieving sustainable peace in the region,” he added.
Baku and Yerevan have been embroiled in a sovereignty dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. In September 2020, a spate of renewed hostilities broke out in the region. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities. Russian peacekeepers were brought into the region to ensure the operation of humanitarian corridors. On May 17, 2023, at the Council of Europe’s summit in Reykjavik, Pashinyan said that Yerevan recognized the sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its borders, which included Nagorno-Karabakh.
