Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday offered the ethnic Armenians of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region and also neighbouring Armenia the prospects of cooperation, reconciliation and joint development after his forces took control of the enclave.

In a televised address, he said Azerbaijan had regained full sovereignty over its territory and now wished to integrate Karabakh's population and turn the region into "paradise."

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He said Azerbaijan had nothing against Karabakh's Armenian people - "they are our citizens" - but only against their "criminal" separatist leadership.

He also said Azerbaijan valued the fact that Armenia, on whose support Nagorno-Karabakh has relied for three decades, had not sought to intervene in Baku's military operation, but had remained "watchful." This improved the prospects for peace talks, he said.