Azerbaijan sets itself the task of forming a strong regional security system in the South Caucasus, which will enable preventing new conflicts and protecting the peace process with Armenia from attempts at external intervention and destabilization, stated Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan and head of foreign policy affairs department of the Azerbaijani presidential administration.

According to Hajiyev, Azerbaijan strives not only for a peace fixed on paper, but for a real and viable settlement, the results of which people will be able to feel.

At the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has proposed to Armenia to move from long-standing hostility to a peaceful settlement of relations, Hajiyev.

“The text of the peace treaty was prepared in our country. We extended a hand of peace to neighboring Armenia. We had two paths before us: eternal war, or eternal peace. We chose the path of eternal peace,” the Azerbaijani presidential aide said.

Also, he paid special attention to the prospects of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. According to him, Azerbaijan is proceeding from the need to overcome the consequences of the multi-year conflict, not allowing the heavy historical legacy to determine the future of the two countries.

“Some wounds are still fresh, and we cannot close our eyes to certain memories. But at the same time, we look to the future, to eternal peace,” Hajiyev noted.

He called the development of economic ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan a practical confirmation of the new approach. Trade ties have already been established between the two countries, and work is being carried out in parallel to establish transport communications, Hajiyev said.

These opportunities are of particular importance for Armenia, which has no direct access to the sea and is interested in expanding international trade routes.

“Armenia is a landlocked country, but we [i.e. Azerbaijan] offer it to become a country connected to other countries in the region and open various transport routes for it,” the Azerbaijani presidential aide said.