Czech News Agency (CTK)
March 19, 2004

AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA EYING NATO, EU

BRATISLAVA, March 19 ; (PVR)

Azerbaijan and Georgia are part of Europe and they see their future
in NATO and the EU, their presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Mikheil
Saakashvili, said at the conference Towards a Wider Europe: The New
Agenda today.

Azerbaijan sees its future in the deeper integration into the
Euro-Atlantic space, Aliyev said.

He said his country was mostly tormented by the dispute with Armenia
over the region Nagorny Karabakh.

The problem can threaten the stability of the whole region, Aliyev
said.

He called on the EU and the Council of Europe to devote more
attention to Nagorny Karabakh.

If international organisations pay more attention to the problem, a
peaceful solution will be found, Aliyev said.

Saakashvili congratulated the European countries which are to join
NATO and the EU in the months to come.

He mentioned Romania which persistently supports Georgia in its
effort to join European structures and Bulgaria whose representatives
supported him during the solution to the last Adzhara crisis.

Saakashvili stressed that Georgia made part of Europe as it its
easternmost part.

The right steps were chosen by the Baltic countries which do not
close the door behind them to European institutions, trying to keep
them open also for others, Saakashvili said.

Everyone wants to share the success story, Saakashvili said. The idea
of New Agenda – more attention to the Balkans, the Black Sea and
Transcaucasia – was also supported by Romanian Premier Adrian
Nastase.

He supported integration of these countries into the EU and NATO. For
a successful integration, relationships with Partnership for Peace
should be developed, Nastase said.

The close entry of Kosovo’s neighbours into NATO and the EU can help
the security of the whole region, Nastase said.

The expansion of NATO and the EU should not end at the eastern border
of Romania, he added.