President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev speaks about Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations, Moscow and Washington moderation, the Brussels format, the Minsk Group, and Madrid principles.
Aliyev, in particular, said: “There are two negotiation directions – the Moscow and Washington formats, where our foreign ministers, their teams, and experts meet and discuss the details of the peace treaty. The Brussels format is not a negotiation format but rather a support format for direct meetings between the leaders of the two countries. It still works, more or less successfully.”
Aliyev said about the Minsk Group: “It was not me, but they (members of the Minsk Group) who made that structure inoperable. As a result of the geopolitical conflict, the “Minsk Group” disappeared. And its revival is unreal and unacceptable to us. We hear some whispers that there are ideas to reassemble that broken vase, but it is practically impossible; it is also impossible with our consent.”
Aliyev said about Russia’s role and Azerbaijan’s position: “After the war, Russia pushed forward the negotiations because it signed the November 9/10 statement, deployed peacekeepers, is our neighbor, and is also close to Armenia. It was natural. But as Russia became more preoccupied with other issues, competitors began to fill the vacuum. I cannot say what will happen at the end of that competition. But it is clear to me that Azerbaijan will not be the territory of that competition. Meanwhile, Armenia is slowly becoming an area of that competition, which will cause a serious problem.”
