From talk of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev at the meeting with Senator Sam Brownback - Washington, The Capitol, July 30, 1997


Distinguished Mr. Brownback!

I greet you and thank you for being aware of the successful processes in the life of our country in the different spheres, including works on democratization and establishment of market relations and appreciation of my activity as President of Azerbaijan.

Mr. Brownback, You are a close friend of our country. That is why you can appreciate constructive activities and the hardships that we face in the recent years completely correct. As you know well, the greatest and most painful problem of our country is the conflict, a result of Armenian aggression against our county. The Armenian aggression resulted in grave consequences for our country. 20 percent of our territory has been occupied, over one million our compatriots were forced out of their lands to live in the refugee camps under hard conditions, dozens of our towns, villages and cultural monuments were destroyed in front of the eyes of the world. Despite all this, Azerbaijan achieved a ceasefire agreement with Armenia and implicitly upholding it, is for peaceful settlement of the conflict. From this point of view, the last proposals of the representatives of the United States, Russia and France, present OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, are interesting. The Denver Statement by the presidents of the USA, Russia and France creates great hopes for the settlement of the conflict too. I must point out that, although they are not fully acceptable for us, nevertheless keeping a constructive position for the establishment of stability in the region, we accepted them as a basis for the intensification of negotiations, but Armenia has not yet given its consent to it.

At the end of my speech, I assure You once more that Azerbaijan will never step back from the road of independence and will do its best for building a constitutional, democratic and secular state and continue its development on the basis of market principles in economy and we shall try to expand of the Azerbaijani-US cooperation. I ask you not to spare your efforts in supporting the draft submitted to the Congress by Congressman King for repealing unjust Section 907 against Azerbaijan. 

"Heydar Aliyev: Our independence is eternal" (speeches, declarations, statements, interviews, letters, appeals, decrees) - Azernashr, Baku-2003, vol.XI, pp.166-167