President: OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs opted for policy of 'neither peace, nor war'

"If the Minsk Group had once exerted serious pressure on Yerevan, Armenia would have certainly be obliged to quit the occupied territories. In this case, there would have been no need for war," President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his interview with the Anadolu Agency, Report informs.

"But they didn't exert such pressure though all the three member-states of the Minsk Group are also the permanent members of the UN Security Council and are among the world's strongest powers. Didn't they have the political weight and political instruments to send serious messages to Armenia? They simply opted for the policy of 'neither peace nor war,'" the head of state said.

He noted that he repeatedly appealed to the Minsk Group co-chairs and other big states, urging them to impose sanctions against Armenia.

"It could also have averted the war. That is, we used all variants to resolve the conflict peacefully - without war and bloodshed. All the same, I repeatedly stated that we would not accept the situation and we would liberate our lands at any cost. We simply gave a chance to the Armenian side," the head of state said.