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Terror threat against new Caspian oil-gas pipelines increases

18 September 2009 13:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Elnur Mammadli â€“ APA. Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA) and France-based Eurasian New Horizons organized international conference on the â€œSecurity and Stability of Caspian Region from View of New Geopolitical Realitiesâ€. According to APA, Azerbaijani public and political figures, NGO leaders, political scientists, European parliamentarians, heads of research centers attended the conference. ACSDA vice president Veli Alibeyov said socio-political situation in the Caspian region was not stable and there were conflicts which threatened regional security.

Head of Eurasian New Horizons, member of French National Assembly Thierry Marianne said large oil and gas fields of the Caspian Sea attracted worldâ€™s attention to this region and made the region sensitive to the threats.

Member of the Council of Europe Monitoring Committee Mike Hancock (Britain) said it needed to pursue right political course to solve conflicts and to prevent their inflammation again. â€œArmenians should understand that they have to live in neighborhood with Azerbaijan. The problem of 20 percent occupied territories of Azerbaijan and one million refugees and displaced persons must be solved for complete security in the regionâ€.

Founder of UK Defense Forum Robin Ashby and chairman of PACE Foreign Relations Committee Tadeusz Iwinski made reports on the current situation of security in the Caspian Sea. Ashby said there were great terror threats in the region and Azerbaijan was a country which faced with Islamic fundamentalism. He said newly-constructed oil and gas pipelines increased the terror threat in the region.

Chief of the Political Analysis and Information Department of Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Elnur Aslanov made report â€œConflicts in the Caucasus and their influence on global securityâ€. He said Nagorno Karabakh conflict was the main regional threat. The department chief said the problem must be solved only within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. â€œSelf-determination principle can not be implemented in Nagorno Karabakh. It can receive only autonomous status within Azerbaijan on the way of solution to the conflict. Seven nearby regions should be liberated at first and only after that the autonomous status can be discussed.â€ Aslanov said prolongation of the settlement process connected with the non-constructive position of Armenia. â€œArmenians have to understand that the time is against themâ€.

The participants also attended the sessions â€œEnergy resources and economic crisis: their impact on the securityâ€, â€œToward strengthening of cooperation with NATO and EUâ€.