Baku sets itself the task of forming a strong regional security system in the South Caucasus, which will allow preventing new conflicts and protecting the peace process with Armenia from attempts at external intervention and destabilization. This was announced by Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan, head of the foreign policy department of the president's office. According to him, Baku strives not only for a formal peace fixed on paper, but for a real and viable settlement, the results of which people will be able to feel. On the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev, Baku offered Armenia to move from years of hostility to a peaceful settlement of relations. "The text of the peace treaty was prepared in our country. We extended a hand of peace to neighboring Armenia. There were two paths before us: eternal war or eternal peace. We chose the path of eternal peace," he said. He paid special attention to the prospects of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. According to him, Baku proceeds 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 states. "Some wounds are still fresh and we cannot turn a blind eye to certain memories. However, at the same time, we look to the future, to eternal peace," he emphasized. Hajiyev called the development of economic ties a practical confirmation of the new approach. Trade relations have already been established between Azerbaijan and Armenia, parallel work is being done in the direction of building transport communication. These opportunities are of special importance for Armenia, which has no direct access to the sea and is interested in the expansion of international trade routes. "Armenia is a landlocked country, and we offer it to turn into a country connected with other states of the region and open various transport routes for it," he said.