Baku is firm in its intention to demand compensation from Armenia for the damage caused by the Armenian “occupation” of Nagorny Karabakh, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Gasanov said on Friday.
“Azerbaijan will not make any concessions on the issue of compensation for the damage caused [by Armenia],” Gasanov said during a conference in Baku focusing on damage caused by international conflicts.
Ten years ago, Baku estimated the damage at $60 billion-70 billion, and now the figure has exceeded $100 billion, Gasanov said. He added that international bodies should be involved in estimating the exact damage suffered by Azerbaijan as a result of the “occupation.”
The predominantly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh claimed independence from Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, triggering a bloody conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan which has left more than 30,000 people dead on both sides between 1988 and 1994. The region has since remained under Armenian control
There has been an increasing number of shootouts along the line of contact between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, as well as at the border between the two states.
Gasanov warned on Friday that if Yerevan does not change its position, “we will soon liberate our lands by order of our supreme commander [President Ilkham Aliyev].”
Nagorny Karabakh held presidential elections last week won by Bako Saakyan, the incumbent leader of the unrecognized republic.
Russian monitors recognized the elections as “valid, transparent, legitimate, free, democratic, fair and fully complying with the election code of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.” The European Union has refused to recognize the legality of the polls.
