Azerbaijan, Baku, 4 July / Trend S. Ahmadova /
The occupied territories of Azerbaijan are used for terrorist activities such as training of terrorists, director of the Center for Strategic Studies (SAM) under the President of Azerbaijan, Farhad Mammadov said, speaking on Thursday at a conference on British-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the European agenda organized by SAM in London.
The occupied territories have become a hub of drug trafficking, illegal activities, and even terrorist activities, Mammadov said.
The illegal arms trade- the trade of small arms and light weapons sustains the continued opposition to conflict resolution, the head of SAM noted.
"The beneficiaries of the arms deals don't want to lose a source of income, as is the case with other illegal activities," Mammadov said.
The Azerbaijan's 2010 Military Doctrine of Azerbaijan emphasizes that the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh territories by Armenia, which remain temporarily out of the control of Azerbaijan's government bodies, damages not only national security, but also has a serious negative impact on regional security.
"At the international level, Armenia has violated international agreements leading to terrible consequences," Mammadov emphasized.
Environmental security of Caucasus is also seriously threatened by the occupation of the territories by Armenia, the head of SAM noted.
Azerbaijan's military budget this year is more than $3.7 billion, which is more than Armenia's overall state budget.
Nagorno-Karabakh remains the most serious and long-standing conflict in the post-Soviet space, SAM director said.
"Azerbaijan perceives the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as threat to its territorial integrity and sovereign independence," Mammadov noted.
Recalling that Azerbaijan's Karabakh population is represented by Azerbaijani Karabakh Community Public Union, Mammadov noted that they tried several times to meet their Armenian counterparts.
"If there is a desire for building trust, one can understand that Armenians' rejection of such meetings. The only reason is that they fear that this may open the way for peaceful resolution of the conflict," Mammadov added.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
