Armenia strikes heavy blow to resolution of Karabakh issue: Ilham Aliyev

MOSCOW

Armenia struck a heavy blow to the settlement of relations with Baku, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Friday.

Speaking at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Aliyev said Yerevan organized "a large-scale provocation" on Sept. 13 on the border with Azerbaijan.

The provocation was "decisively suppressed by the Azerbaijani army," but seriously damaged the peace processes, he said, stressing that all responsibility lies on the military-political leadership of Armenia.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan presented to Armenia its five basic principles for the settlement and stressed the necessity to start working on a draft peace agreement without preconditions and "artificial delays."

The president noted that the UN resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh remained unimplemented for 27 years and Azerbaijan itself settled the conflict.

Aliyev noted that conditions for the peace settlement were created by Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Within two years after the victory, Azerbaijan has built and continues to build thousands of kilometers of highways and hundreds of kilometers of railways in the territories liberated from occupation, which is also beneficial for the countries of the region, he said.

"The opening of the Zangezur corridor will further increase the transport capabilities of the countries of the region, it will be beneficial for all countries located along this route," he said.

Azerbaijan makes a significant contribution to the launch of regional communication projects, such as "West-East" and "North-South," the Baku International Commercial Sea Port has a capacity of 15 million tons of cargo per year, and it can be increased to 25 million tons, he said.

In seven months, cargo transit through the territory of Azerbaijan has increased by almost 50% compared to the same period in 2021.

Azerbaijan also has the biggest air cargo fleet in the region and the country is building two more international airports, raising its number from seven to nine.

Aliyev reminded that since 2019, Azerbaijan has presided at the Non-Aligned Movement, the second-large international organization in the world after the UN, uniting 120 countries.

"Our presidency was unanimously expanded for one more year, till 2023, which confirms respect and trust to our country. Azerbaijan will continue its activity, based on international law, justice, and global security," he said.