Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan's territory did not allow South Caucasus to develop as more or less integrated region, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said today as he addressed an international forum themed “Facing the New World Order” at ADA University.
"But aggression, devastation and suffering of the Azerbaijani people did not allow that to happen. South Caucasus was not integrated. Though, from economic point of view and point of view of transportation routes and, of course, energy security, that could have happened," Ilham Aliyev said.
The head of state cited the relationship between Azerbaijan and Georgia with all the segments - energy security, transportation, political dialogue, investments, economic advantages. Armenia actually deprived itself from that, and actually, as a result of occupation and aggression, deprived itself from becoming a transit country, important transit country for Azerbaijan's energy resources and transportation routes, the Azerbaijani leader noted.
“Being realist, of course, we cannot imagine that immediately we will become friends with Armenia. It is not realistic, and even talking about a kind of economic integration is premature. But we are ready for starting to make small steps towards confidence-building measures,” Ilham Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan signed or adopted the declaration on strategic partnership with many countries. So, this already established platform allows us to play an important role of a geographical, political, economic and transportation bridge between region of Central Asia and Europe.
"It's only enough to look at the map to understand that Azerbaijan cannot be avoided. Though, there are some in Europe who would prefer to separate Azerbaijan, not only from this process, but also to build the dividing lines in the Caucasus, particularly in the Southern Caucasus. These attempts will definitely not succeed," Ilham Aliyev said.
It is for the seventh time the big group of international experts from different countries visit Azerbaijan to address important issues of global agenda. These visits help to know Azerbaijan better, to feel the pulse of the country, the Azerbaijani leader noted.
"The regular visits of international experts to the liberated territories gives more information about the history of our country, the history of the conflict and, of course, today’s reality of Azerbaijan,” Ilham Aliyev said.
