President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said on Friday that his country welcomed Armenia's "last opportunity" to resolve the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which witnessed battles between the two sides since late September and caused hundreds deaths.
Aliyev’s speech coincided with the start of negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Moscow, as the fighting intensified between the two sides.
Aliyev said, "We are giving Armenia an opportunity to peacefully resolve the conflict. It is its last chance," adding, "We will return to our lands. It is a historic opportunity to Armenia," according to AFP.
He stressed that talks could not be held if Armenia insisted that the region be considered part of its territory.
He also added that Azerbaijan's use of force demonstrated that there was a military solution to the conflict.
On his part, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed his country's readiness to resume peace negotiations with Azerbaijan under international supervision to resolve the conflict over the region.
The negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region began in Moscow, at the invitation of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
The Moscow meeting comes a day after France, Russia and the United States launched the peace initiative at a meeting in Geneva.
The Armenian government says that the talks will focus on cessation of hostilities, fighting and the exchange of and prisoners, according to "Reuters".
Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, said that it also calls for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, yet peace will not happen unless it guarantees the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the region, where fighting broke out on September 27.
The main proposal of Azerbaijan to agree to a ceasefire is that Armenia set a time frame to withdraw from the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and territories around it belong to Azerbaijan.
Armenia excludes withdrawing from an area it considers historical home for its population.
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