Azerbaijani president says in case of 'serious threat' his country will take 'serious measures'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday warned that his nation will not "sit idly by" while Greece, France, and India arm Armenia against his country, and in case of a "serious threat" will take "serious measures."

"We cannot sit and wait while France, India and Greece arm Armenia against us. They are doing it openly and demonstratively as if they are trying to prove something to us in this way. We cannot just sit idly by," Aliyev stressed, speaking at the ADA University in Baku.

The president emphasized that the Armenian government and the third parties are aware of Azerbaijan's position.

"If we see a serious threat, we will have to take serious measures," he warned.

Meanwhile, the work on the peace treaty is moving forward, and Azerbaijan and Armenia have a common understanding of how the document has to look like, he said, adding that details need further refinement, which takes time.

According to his assessment, Baku and Yerevan are now closer to signing the peace agreement than ever before. They may sign a framework document on basic principles by November when Azerbaijan will host the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference, and then finalize details, he said.

Aliyev announced that he accepted Kazakhstan's invitation to host a meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers.

"Kazakhstan suggested hosting a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia. We agreed. So if Armenia also agrees, the meeting will take place in Kazakhstan," he said.

Asked about Azerbaijan's possible accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, Aliyev said it may become a topic for discussions in the future, but right now there are no such plans.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have remained tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated most of the territory during a 44-day war, then, established full sovereignty in September 2023 following an "anti-terrorist operation" in Karabakh, which led to the surrender of separatist forces.