Aliyev sets conditions for returning to negotiating table

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that Baku is planning to return to the negotiating table once the phase of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh is over

In an interview with Channel One Russia, Aliyev said Azerbaijan cannot "sit for another 30 years and wait for pressure to be put on Armenia."

"When the phase of military confrontation is over, we will naturally return to the negotiating table, ”Aliyev said, writes TASS.

Aliyev also noted that a political settlement of the conflict must be backed up by guarantees from the world's leading countries, and not necessarily by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the United States – alone.

He added that the OSCE Minsk Group was created in completely different realities back in 1992.

The Azerbaijani President believes it is too early to mention countries that could become guarantors of a future peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey, launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.

Donations can be made to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, which has launched a fundraising campaign to support Karabakh amid Azerbaijan's aggression.