BAKU, September 29. /TASS/. Azerbaijan will make sure that the rights and security of Armenians in Karabakh are protected and has already outlined its vision of reintegration to them, President Ilham Aliyev said at the second National Urban Planning Forum in Zangilan on Friday.
"We officially declare that the rights and security of the Armenian population of Karabakh will be protected. We have already presented Karabakh’s Armenian community with our vision of reintegration; that is, their religious, educational, cultural, municipal and all other rights will be respected as reflected in international conventions signed by Azerbaijan in conformity with its constitution and international obligations," the Azerbaijani president said.
On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." Russia called on the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed and return to a diplomatic settlement. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that an agreement had been reached in coordination with the Russian peacekeeping contingent to suspend anti-terrorist activities in Karabakh.