AssA-Irada,
4, September 2007

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a strongly-worded message to Armenia on Tuesday, saying the stalling resolution of the conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh could cause bitter consequences.

"The sooner the Armenian leaders realize this, the better it is for them," he told a meeting dedicated to the problems of citizens displaced as a result of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.

The two countries have been locked in conflict for over a decade. Upper Garabagh has been occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire ended hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted about a million from their homes.

"The policy of ethnic cleansing was pursued in Azerbaijan's territories and this injustice has persisted for many years," the head of state said.

President Aliyev reminded that peace talks were under way to settle the long-running dispute. He said the Azerbaijani government was looking for different options to resolve the problem.

"If the framework [talks] referred to as the Prague process yields no fruit, hopes may run out. Therefore, its success would greatly bolster peace efforts," Aliyev said.

Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan's image worldwide has strengthened in the past years and the country is successfully pursuing its energy policy, which has increased its economic and military potential. Considering this, Baku may resort to other means should a negotiated settlement fail.

"We have to be ready to liberate our land by any means, including military action. Azerbaijan will never reconcile with the loss of its land and will restore its territorial integrity sooner or later," the commander-in-chief said.

The president said political and diplomatic efforts should be continued to reach a solution of the Garabagh problem. At the same time, the process of boosting the potential of the national army should be stepped up.

"We have raised our military expenditure several times in the past few years. Defense spending amounts to $1 billion in this year's budget. Next year's military budget will be even greater," Aliyev said.

Elaborating on the reasons for increasing defense spending, the head of state said: "We are in a state of war and our land is under occupation, therefore, any funds available should be channeled into this field. The army is being strengthened, the professionalism [of servicemen] improved, and military machinery and weapons purchased for the purpose. It is for this reason that the Ministry of Defense Industry was established," Aliyev said.

He said some other steps that are not divulged to the wide public were also being taken to achieve liberation of the occupied territories.

President Aliyev said the government was working hard to solve the problems of the displaced population. 47 settlements have been built for refugees and IDPs in 2001-2007 and 70,000 people are currently settled there. The residents of nine make-shift refugee camps have been re-settled in the past three years. People settled in three more such camps will be provided with housing by the year-end. About 19,000 people living in railway carriages in the Saatly, Sabirabad and Imishli districts will move to newly-built settlements, the president pledged.