World
Azerbaijan president sends Karabakh Armenians and Armenia message of peace
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday offered the ethnic Armenians of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region and also neighboring Armenia the prospects of cooperation, reconciliation and joint development after his forces took control of the enclave.
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In a televised address, he said Azerbaijan had regained full sovereignty over its territory and now wished to integrate Karabakh’s population and turn the region into “paradise.”
He said Azerbaijan had nothing against Karabakh’s Armenian people – “they are our citizens” – but only against their “criminal” separatist leadership.
He also said Azerbaijan valued the fact that Armenia, on whose support Nagorno-Karabakh has relied for three decades, had not sought to intervene in Baku’s military operation, but had remained “watchful.” This improved the prospects for peace talks, he said.
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