Azerbaijan's Aliyev Discusses Negotiations, Claims Armenia Sought to Return Five Districts

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, during his visit to the Kashatagh (Lachin) region, which came under Azerbaijani control, addressed the negotiation process and the trilateral statement. He stated, “During negotiations, they never wanted to return the Lachin and Kelbajar regions to us. This was the main reason for the lack of agreement in the negotiations. Unfortunately, Armenia and several of its foreign sponsors sought to return five districts to Azerbaijan, which would be satisfied with that, while Nagorno-Karabakh would attain independence at some point, and the Kelbajar and Lachin regions would remain under Armenia's eternal control. But I rejected that offer.”