Azerbaijani President: “I hope one day neighbourly relations will be established with Armenia”

“I hope one day neighbourly relations will be established with Armenia,” President Ilham Aliyev said in his address to the Azerbaijani people on the occasion of December 31 – the Solidarity Day of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year, Report informs.

The head of state said: “As for our activities in the international arena, I must say that our relations with neighbouring countries have thrived. These relations are traditionally based on friendship and cooperation. The Shusha Declaration signed with Turkey officially raises Turkish-Azerbaijani relations to the level of an alliance. In fact, it was an allied relationship, but it has already been formally confirmed, and, of course, the signing of this declaration in Shusha had a special meaning. Our relations with Russia are developing successfully. I am confident that our relations with Russia will officially be raised to a higher level in the next period.

Friendly and partnership relations have been further developed during regular contacts and exchanges of views with other neighbours, Iran and Georgia. A platform for multilateral cooperation is already being formed in the region, and, of course, this is in our interests.

While speaking of neighbours, of course, I never included Armenia in this category of countries. I still do not include it today. But I hope one day neighbourly relations will be established with Armenia. By accepting the results of the Second Karabakh War, Armenia can also increase its role in the regional framework. In any case, the meetings in Sochi and Brussels in November and December are promising, and I hope that the agreements reached at these meetings will be reflected in real life in 2022.”