The president added that Baku has already presented to the Armenian community of the region his integration vision, which ‘includes the fulfillment of religious, educational, cultural, municipal and other rights reflected in the international conventions signed by Azerbaijan.

Aliyev has assured on several times that Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will have the same rights as other citizens now that Baku has regained full control of the breakaway region.

However, Hikmet Hajiyev, Aliyev´s advisor, noted last week that the integration of Karabakh Armenians into the economic, political and social life of Azerbaijan would come up against difficulties and there would be those who would decide to leave.

In turn, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian called on September 24 for establishing effective mechanisms to shield Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic cleansing, and warned that exodus might be the only way to save their lives and identity.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over Nagorno Karabakh since that territory, with a majority Armenian population, decided to secede in 1988 from the former Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.

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