Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 18 /Trend News, J.Babayeva/

Azerbaijan is one of the most important countries in shaping the regional security in Europe, the Head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Political Analysis and Dataware Department, Elnur Aslanov said at an international conference "Security and stability in the Caspian Sea region in the prism of the new geopolitical realities" on Sept. 18.

"Azerbaijan is the leading country in the region and it is not only from a geopolitical, but also the geo-economic point of view. Today, Azerbaijan is the only country in the region, which pursue an independent policy," said Aslanov.

Unfortunately, besides the development, Azerbaijan is concerned about some issues in the region that are still on the agenda, he said.

"A total of 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territories is under occupation. As a result of the irrational and unconstructive position of Armenia, the conflict has not yet been resolved," said the head of the Presidential Administration Department.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 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 the peace negotiations.

"The territorial integrity is a fundamental principle of the international law and its violation by military actions is a crime against peace, Aslanov said. The principle of nation's self-determination cannot be considered as a notion of political independence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other similar conflicts. The national minorities, including the Armenians of the Nagorno-Karabakh, cannot justify their separatist demands. It is clear for the world that separatism has no future."

There is only one way to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: this is issuing a status for the Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan, Aslanov said. "This is a part of a by-staged resolution of the conflict. It means to withdraw troops from seven regions around the Nagorno-Karabakh and repatriate internally displaced peoples, and then to discuss the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh within the frames of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. "Peace in exchange to territory" format is the only way for Armenia to get out of the blockade and achieve regional integration," Aslanov added.

Today, on Sept. 18, Baku is hosting an international conference "Security and stability in the Caspian Sea region in the prism of the new geopolitical realities."

The conference is organized by the Association of Azerbaijan Civil Society Development Assistance and Eurasia - New Horizons (France).

According to Aslanov, Azerbaijan is developing and becoming an economic leader in the region and Armenia regresses from an economic point of view day after day.

"Azerbaijan is developing day by day, and Armenia, which waives the non-constructive position, is falling behind in the economic field day after day. According to the report of the International Monetary Fund, which was released yesterday, Armenia's foreign debt amounts to 31.1 percent. This shows that the prospects of the development of Armenia are equal to zero," he said.

Increase in geopolitical and geo-economic weight of Azerbaijan is an indicator of the direction in on which the region will develop in the future, said Aslanov.

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