Ilham Aliyev: Nagorno-Karabakh integral part of Azerbaijan, it is recognized as one by whole world

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Saeed Isayev - Trend: Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, and it is recognized as one by the whole world, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Jan. 15 at a press conference held in Brussels. He said it has been a long time since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict started, and long time since Azerbaijani lands have been under occupation in 20 years. "The resolutions of the UN Security Council demanding unconditional, immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from our territory are not implemented by Armenia. This is a brutal violation of international law," Azerbaijani president said. President Ilham Aliyev said his last meeting with Armenian president was more optimistic than the previous one, and there was a long period of stagnation in the negotiation process, because of unwillingness of Armenia to negotiate. "Still, we have doubts, whether the Armenian side is sincere in the process of negotiations, or they just want to continue maintaining the status quo," Ilham Aliyev said. He said that the Minsk Group countries' presidents made it clear that the status quo is unacceptable. "And we consider it a serious message to Armenia, because in order to change the status quo, they need to start de-occupation of our territories. We will see, we gave instructions to our foreign ministers, they met already since our meeting in Vienna, and hopefully they will meet later this month or next month. And we will see to what degree Armenia is sincere, and hopefully if realistic assessment in Armenia prevails, we will find a resolution pretty soon," President Ilham Aliyev said. Answering to a journalist's questions, the head of Azerbaijani state said there are no the so called political prisoners in Azerbaijan. "This is also confirmed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Last December there was a broad discussion in the Council of Europe about this, and the resolution, which was launched by some Assembly members with respect to political prisoners in Azerbaijan, has failed," President Ilham Aliyev said. "The majority of members did not support this resolution. This means that what I have said last time here in European Commission, that there are no political prisoners in Azerbaijan is also confirmed by one of the most important institutions of Europe and the world. Azerbaijan has been the member of the Council of Europe for more than 10 years, member of European Court of Human Rights, and a priori there cannot be political prisoners in our country. If somebody is not treated in a fair way, there is always a chance to apply to European Court, and we are complying with the decisions of that court". Azerbaijani president went on to add that there are no definitions of political prisoners. "We think that definition of political prisoners, if adopted by European Parliament, the Council of Europe, would be a good idea. Then it would be possible to say who is a political prisoner, and who is not," President Aliyev added. Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency