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If Mr. Aliyev speaks about autonomy, our suggestion is to grant that to numerous national minorities residing in Azerbaijan, including the Avars, the Lezgins, the Tats and the Talish people, Artsakh president spokesperson Davit Babayan told Panorama.am, adding those minorities wish to fulfill their national liberation dreams and if he [President Aliyev] fails to do so, new conflict zones may emerge in Azerbaijan. Davit Babayan’s comments came in response to the request to comment on Azerbaijani president’s latest remarks over the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
To remind, Ilham Aliyev said days ago in his interview with Sputnik International News Agency that a compromise on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement was possible - the region could become an autonomous republic.
"A reasonable compromise is possible: security of the Nagorno Karabakh people, their livelihoods, self-government, implementation of various investment projects on the part of Azerbaijan as well as peaceful interaction between the two nations. We see the settlement of the conflict in such a way in terms of giving away the territories outside of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region,” Aliyev was quoted as saying.

“We should assess Mr. Aliyev’s remarks from two perspectives. First, that is an indicative of the fact something has changed in Azerbaijan. Aliyev has never spoken about autonomy, since his sole rhetoric was about eliminating Artsakh. We may state a new vector of approach is being formulated. Following this logic, we can’t rule our Aliyev’s official recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in two-three months. From another perspective, this seems unlikely, and Aliyev, thus, displays his regular non-constructive and Nazi policy,” Babayan stressed.

Babayan recalled one proposal made about the joint state over the whole negotiation process, when back in 1997-1999 the idea of the joint state with equal rights and status for Azerbaijan and Artsakh was envisaged, which was later rejected by Azerbaijan.  

Babayan also referred to another autonomy in the territory of Azerbaijan - Nakhijevan – with its dire fate known to all. 

“There has been nothing else than white Genocide, when the entire Armenian population was forced to leave Nakhijevan. The population in the former Autonomous Republic of Nagorno Karabakh has been subjected to violence for 70 years with an ultimate goal of making them leave Karabakh. The whole Northern Artsakh was cleansed of the Armenians, Gardavank and other Armenian territories, all Armenian populated areas of the former Azerbaijani SSR. Let us recall the Sumgayit, Baku and other ethnic cleansings. Today, he [President of Azerbaijan] is speaking of autonomy. That is an absurd for an independent state to be deprived of everything and get back to a status of concentration camp. That will never come true,” maintained the spokesperson.

Babayan also reflected on Aliyev’s reaction to the US Secretary of State John Kerry recent remarks, suggesting that is subject to a thorough psychological study.

“He [President of Azerbaijan] knows to be the one to be blamed, a reason he tries to justify himself. Even though Kerry refrained to publicly state, that is evident that Azerbaijan is to be blamed for that. That is why Aliyev tries to retaliate. Furthermore, not only he tries to improve the situation, but attempts to play against the West,” the spokesperson of the president of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic concluded.