BAKU. March 20 (Interfax) - The format of negotiations on settling the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be changed, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
"The Armenian side has brought up the issue of changing the negotiating format. However, Azerbaijan certainly cannot accept this. Simultaneously, the ambassadors of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, the United States, France, and Russia, have issued a serious statement saying that the format must remain unchanged. High-ranking European Union officials have made analogous statements. That is, this is unambiguously a substantial message to Armenia, and it shows that Azerbaijan's position is acquiring even stronger support," President Aliyev said as part of a message of congratulations to the Azerbaijani nation on the occasion of the Muslim holiday of Nowruz.
Azerbaijan's position on settling the conflict remains unchanged, Aliyev said. "This conflict must be settled only within the framework of our country's territorial integrity. Nagorno-Karabakh is our historical land, and the soonest possible settlement of this conflict must be based only on norms and principles of international law," he said.
"Alongside this, of course, we are building up our military power. Two military parades conducted last year demonstrated our military strength to the whole world. This year and in years to come, we will be doing our utmost toward building the army. It is safe to say that an absolute majority of our military units have been reconstructed. The Azerbaijani army has been equipped with the latest hardware, and our combat capability is growing day by day," Aliyev said.