Azerbaijani president expecting successful reintegration of Karabakh Armenians

Ilham Aliyev

BAKU, September 25. /TASS/: The reintegration of Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society will be successful, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

"The city of Yevlakh hosted a meeting between representatives of Karabakh Armenians and officials from Azerbaijan’s state agencies a couple of days ago. Another meeting is taking place in Khankendi today. I haven’t received a report on its outcome yet, but I am sure that the process of reintegration of Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society will proceed successfully," Aliyev stated following talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan.

According to Aliyev, although it has been only five days since the end of an anti-terrorist operation in Karabakh, Azerbaijan is already sending humanitarian aid to Karabakh Armenians. "This once again shows that the people who live in the Karabakh Region are Azerbaijani citizens regardless of their ethnic background and the Azerbaijani government will ensure their safety and rights," Aliyev stressed.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to end the bloodshed and return to efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that an agreement on the suspension of the anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh had been reached through the mediation of Russia’s peacekeeping mission.