President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter to President of France Emmanuel Macron on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between France and Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan is a supporter of peace. We are ready to start negotiations on a peace agreement with Armenia on the basis of fundamental principles of international law such as territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders. Emphasizing the importance of Armenia's constructive stance on this issue, we do hope that France will support the peace agenda in the region," the statement published on the official Azerbaijani presidential website.
"At present, the main task facing Azerbaijan is to restore the territories completely destroyed as a result of many years of occupation," he added.
"We appreciate France's support for the demining process in our liberated territories. At the same time, we welcome the attention your country has been paying to clarifying the fate of about 4,000 of our compatriots who went missing during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict," the Azerbaijani leader noted.
Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity by ending the occupation of its historical and ancient lands by Armenia.
"The end of the 30 years of aggression has created opportunities for cooperation in the region in accordance with the new geopolitical reality. In this regard, the opening of transport and communication lines ushers ample economic opportunities for our region," he stressed.
