BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Azerbaijan's president has voiced hope that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be settled through talks but added that his nation won't accept the status quo.

Ilham Aliyev's statement comes as he is set to discuss the conflict with Armenia's leader Monday in St. Petersburg, talks hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military since a separatist war ended in 1994. An outbreak of fighting in April has killed about 75 soldiers from both sides along with several civilians.

Aliyev said in remarks released by his office over the weekend that April's fighting showed Azerbaijan's military might "taught the Armenian leadership a good lesson" and demonstrated that "it's not a frozen conflict."