At the cabinet meeting on the country’s economic development in 2017 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made a speech, trying once again to deceive his own society and distort the reality. Talking about the Karabakh conflict, Aliyev said that the conflict should be solved based on international law, emphasizing only the territorial integrity. Moreover, he noted that the international community, including the European Union, supports this approach.

Naturally, by a part of the Azerbaijani society such an announcement can be perceived as an absolute truth and become words of inspiration. Nevertheless, for those who follow international reactions on Karabakh conflict, Aliyev’s statement will raise many questions.

It is enough to remember that the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed between Armenia and the European Union at the end of 2017 fixed that the settlement of the conflict should be based on the three principles of the Helsinki Final Act – non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity and the right of peoples to self-determination. And this formulation reaffirms the position of the Armenian sides that the solution of the conflict is simply impossible without the realization of the right of the Artsakh people to self-determination.

In this context, it is important to note that this approach on Karabakh conflict is the approach of the European Union, as a structure and of individual members of the Union, and after the ratification of the Agreement it will become the EU’s stance. In this sense, it is more than logical that the EU and the EU member states should have as basis this approach when expressing their position on the conflict. It also refers to all the documents with reference to Karabakh conflict, including the possible EU-Azerbaijan agreement.

Therefore, in spite of the statements made by Aliyev, it is necessary to have as basis only the existing facts and to be guided with them, without being manipulated.