SOUTH CAUCASUS HAS TO DEFINE ITS CORPORATE INTERESTS, AZERI ANALYST SAYS

ArmenPress
July 19 2005

YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS: An exhibition of works created by young
painters from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia and titled A Joint Step
Towards Future, opened today in Yerevan. The exhibition was organized
by an Armenia-based Caucasian Center for Peaceful Initiatives, Peace,
Democracy and Culture think-tank in Baku and All-Georgian Rustaveli
Association.

Mikhail Kurdiani, the head of Georgian think-tank said the three
Caucasian nations can boast of rich culture, a legacy that many
powerful nations lack. “If we draw the cultural map of the planet
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan will take the bulk of its space,” he
claimed. The exhibition opening was followed by a seminar on seeking
ways out from deep-rooted stereotypes and surmounting communication
barriers.

Rauf Rajabov, head of Democracy, Peace and Culture, told the
seminar that none of the three South Caucasian nations is able to
succeed in building successful relations with the rest of the world
all alone. Rajabov argued that a compulsory condition for ensuring
stability and peace in the region is that all the three should give up
their efforts to solve their security problems separately, as well as
realize the fundamental truth that they cannot build their security and
prosperity at the expense of decreasing the security and prosperity
of others. The authorities and political forces in all three South
Caucasian countries have to realize and try to jointly determine and
specify their common corporate, geopolitical and regional interests, he
said, adding that resolution of the local conflicts would be the first
step. “Conflicts do not allow the three nations to come up jointly
at international organizations,” he said adding that the Karabakh
dispute should be resolved based on pragmatism and rationalism.