Azerbaijani-Armenian peace deal to be based on three main principles – think tank head

A peace agreement with Armenia will be based on three main principles – mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity by countries, delimitation and opening of transport communications.

Chairman of the Center for Analysis of International Relations (CAIR) Farid Shafiyev said this in a conversation with journalists at a symposium on the topic “The Third Anniversary of the Great Victory: Challenges and Prospects of the Post-Conflict Period” in Baku, APA reports.

In the opinion of the think tank leader, another important issue is the issue of return of IDPs back to their homes.

“How does Azerbaijan see this process? First, our former IDPs must return to the lands liberated from occupation. In this regard, Azerbaijan is facing great difficulties; first of all, it is necessary to point out the mine problem. Another important issue is that about 50,000 Azerbaijanis lived in the territory of the former `Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region’, including in the city of Khankendi. For some reason, some of our Western partners do not want to talk about it, but ethnic cleansing really occurred there. In our region, besides Armenia, there is not a single country that carries out ethnic cleansing. The accusations made against us by some forces are unacceptable.

“The UN fact-finding mission confirmed that no violence was applied by Azerbaijan. France and a number of other countries are unilaterally raising the issue of returning the Armenian residents of Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has announced a reintegration policy, proposals have been sent and efforts are being made. I will also note that if we consider the return of the population to their lands as a concept, then the return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia should be discussed here first of all. Discussing only the problems of Armenians is a manifestation of racism. There are some problems inside Armenia as well. It seems that we are talking about creating a so-called government of refugees. Of course, this poses a threat to peace,” said Farid Shafiyev.