September 11, 2003 - 19:41 AMT
ILHAM ALIYEV COUNTS ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT WITHIN NEXT FEW YEARS
Candidate for the Azeri president, primer minister Ilham Aliyev counts on settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the next few years, otherwise, in his words, Baku will lose patience. "Baku can agree to a peace treaty with Yerevan only based on the principles of restoration of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, withdrawal of Armenian Armed Forces from Azeri territories and return of refugees to their native lands," - he stated in his electoral speech aired by local television. In the words of Aliyev Jr., the Azeri party has lost hope that the OSCE Minsk Group "from now on acting more actively will be able to play its role in the conflict solution." At that he noted that the cease-fire regime between the parties to conflict had promoted "much progress" in Azerbaijan, "Novosti" Russian agency reports.