253 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with German President Frank Walter Steinmeier in the capital Baku. Speaking at a press conference, Steinmeier said, “We know and recognize that Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory.”
Aliyev ceremoniously welcomed Steinmeier, who came to Baku for official talks. The national anthems of the two countries were sung at the ceremony, after which Aliyev and Steinmeier held one-on-one and inter-delegation talks. Speaking at a joint press conference following the talks, Aliyev said that this was the first time a German president had visited Azerbaijan . Stating that Steinmeier’s visit would bring new and positive momentum to relations between the two countries, Aliyev noted that he informed the visiting president about the peace process they were conducting with Armenia: “I personally suggested that peace talks be started after the end of the 2nd Karabakh War. At that time, neither Armenia nor the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group had brought up such a proposal. This proposal was made by Azerbaijan. This situation shows how eager we are to sign a peace treaty. Armenia was insisting on including the so-called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’ in the peace treaty until January 2024. There is no such place as Nagorno-Karabakh. This exists only in Armenia’s dreams. Azerbaijan has a region called Karabakh.”
‘AN OPEN TERRITORIAL DEMAND’
Reminding that full agreement had been reached on the text of the peace agreement to be signed with Armenia, Aliyev explained the conditions for signing the agreement as follows: “First, the OSCE Minsk Group must be dissolved. The second issue is related to the Armenian Constitution. Their constitution refers to the Armenian Declaration of Independence. There is a provision in the declaration regarding the annexation of Azerbaijan’s legal and historical lands to Armenia, and this is considered an open territorial demand against us. Therefore, it is our legitimate demand that this article be removed from the Armenian Constitution. When these two conditions are met, there will be no obstacle to signing the peace agreement. The ball is now in Armenia’s court. If Armenia really wants to sign a peace agreement, it must accept these two legitimate conditions of Azerbaijan.”
‘THE PEACE PROCESS IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE’
German President Steinmeier also expressed his pleasure in being in Azerbaijan and noted that he was happy that this country has become a place where the world’s most important trade routes intersect. Stating that both Germany and Azerbaijan are interested in having economic and commercial relations with the Far East and China, including Central Asia, Steinmeier expressed his country’s interest in the Middle Corridor. Steinmeier emphasized that the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia is of great importance and explained that Germany is ready to make the necessary contribution to this process. Responding to the question of why the West pursued a double-standard policy towards Azerbaijan during the period when its territories were occupied, Steinmeier said, “When we look at the policy of the German government in recent years, we see that it has displayed a very balanced attitude towards the region. We have expressed our attitude in accordance with international law. We know and recognize that Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory.”
