“After the Second Karabakh War, some of the local Armenians contacted our representatives and made suggestions about contacts, and we did not reject that,” said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he was interviewed by local TV channels.

“Because our goal ultimate was to fully restore sovereignty and convince the population living here that they can live comfortably and safely within a single state of Azerbaijan. Our intention was quite open and clear, and some positive steps were taken during those contacts. In other words, the determination and construction of the new route of the Lachin-Khankendi road was a very important event and somewhat laid the foundation for the events of April 23. Because we built a new road and returned the city of Lachin to ourselves,” the head of state added.