ArmInfo. The South Caucasus needs peace. Now is the time, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a press statement jointly with Georgian Premier Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi.
"Challenges remain, problems still exist, peace is yet to be fully established in the South Caucasus. Today we had a conversation with the Prime Minister about this. The South Caucasus needs peace. Now is the time, as the Prime Minister noted. We have always supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia. Just as Georgia has been supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We always support each other in international organizations and we support each other on all other issues that are in the best interests of our countries, our nations. This is a fundamental principle of international law. Violations of international law - violations of territorial integrity - are absolutely unacceptable! We have an agreement and full understanding on this.
"Today we talked about the normalization of the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The second war that took place in Nagorno-Karabakh led to the restoration of our territorial integrity. Last month, we restored the sovereignty of the entire country and today we must actively work on a Peace Agreement with Armenia. I hope that we will achieve this and thus we will create a political environment and situation in the South Caucasus where trilateral cooperation will take place with the involvement of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will be a successful cooperation in energy, trade, investment and many other areas. It is possible! We missed this opportunity, friends, because Azerbaijan was occupied for years. Of course, this situation did not allow us to take steps towards normalization, but the time has come and we must not let this opportunity go. As you know, today several countries and international organizations are in the role of facilitators in the process of normalization. Georgia and Azerbaijan have a position of acceptance. This is an unbiased position regarding the territorial integrity of our countries and we accept any help, but my idea is that the most correct choice, be it historical aspects or other, from a geographical point of view, we need Georgia's involvement in this process. I thank the Prime Minister for being willing to help us with this matter and offering himself in the role of a facilitator. This is a country that stands ready and we expect the same from Armenia. If Armenia agrees, we will immediately start, through our respective agencies, bilateral and trilateral meetings here in Georgia," the Azerbaijani leader said.
