"I think reconciliation is possible, but the Armenian leadership should abandon its aggressive policy," the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said in an interview with Italian Rai-1.
"You know, I have been in contact with foreign media almost every day this month, and I have always made our position clear in my appeals to the Azerbaijani people. We see the future of the Karabakh region - not only in the mountains but also in the lowlands. Karabakh is a big part of Azerbaijan, a prosperous, peaceful territory where the Azerbaijanis should return and exist together peacefully with the Armenians living there.
I believe that with the parties' mutual will, we can achieve this because today, thousands of Armenians live in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan. Together, Azerbaijanis and Armenians have businesses in Russia and Georgia; they have mixed families. Therefore, I think that reconciliation is possible, but the Armenian leadership should abandon its aggressive policy.
And if that happens, with our investments and the experience of rebuilding the country, we can make this region one of the world's most successful ones. To do this, the consequences of the war must be eliminated. The occupation must be eliminated; the Azerbaijanis must return to the lands they have lived for centuries and exist in harmony with the Armenian population.
It will not be easy; it will take time. But we know how countries reconciled after World War II when neighboring European countries were at war and killed many people. But this should not be continuously imprinted in the memory and generate hatred for what Armenian ideologues are doing today.
Goodwill must be expressed. If that happens, then what I say will become a possibility. If not, we will still return these lands. The current situation on the battlefield makes us think this way. We will return them at any cost. Either peacefully or by war. Therefore, I believe the Armenian leadership should think seriously about this and make the right moves," Ilham Aliyev said.
