Optimism about peace has increased, there are no serious obstacles for negotiations: Aliyev

In an interview with Euronews, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated that if Armenia and Azerbaijan do not sign a peace treaty, it will be very bad for the entire region. He once again blamed Armenia for allegedly delaying the peace process.

At the same time, Aliyev emphasized that the optimism in achieving peace has increased, and, according to him, there are no more serious obstacles on the way to advancing the negotiation process. Aliyev added: “During almost three years of negotiation process, Armenia always wanted to incorporate into peace agreement a provision with respect to the Armenian minority in Karabakh. If they want to reflect the issue of Armenian minority in Azerbaijan, then, let us reflect the issue of Azerbaijani minority in Armenia, which was expelled thirty years ago. And the Armenian side is against that,” Aliyev noted, adding that if this issue is resolved, there will be no more problems.

According to the President of Azerbaijan, Baku is now studying the proposals of the Armenian side regarding a possible peace treaty.

“In the meantime, we are maintaining the contacts on the working-level between different officials and through different channels. I think there’s no alternative for peace,” Aliyev said and added that Azerbaijan wants to be sure that Armenia will not allegedly present territorial claims to Azerbaijan in the future.

Referring to the events of September 19, the President of Azerbaijan once again insisted that nobody forced the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to leave, and if they want to return, according to Aliyev, they should apply for Azerbaijani citizenship.