Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 30 2005

Talvitie blames Azerbaijan for delay in EU-Armenia talks

The European Union special envoy on South Caucasus said in Yerevan
that talks on Armenia’s Action Plan within the European Union New
Neighborhood Policy are being delayed `due to problems in
Azerbaijan’s relations with one of the EU member states’, Armenian
media reported.
Heikki Talvitie did not cite a specific country, but the ensuring
statements showed that he implied Cyprus.
`In making the decision to get the three South Caucasus countries
involved in the New Neighborhood Policy, EU was guided by the need
for observing a balanced policy toward all regional states.’
Talvitie expressed a hope that the tensions in the relations between
the `EU member state’ and Azerbaijan would be solved by mid-October.
Otherwise, the European Union will start pursuing a ‘more
differentiated policy’ with regard to South Caucasus, he said.
According to the Armenian foreign ministry, Azerbaijan’s recent
decision to open direct flights with the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus was the `real reason’ for the delay in EU-Armenia talks. In
response, the authorities of Greek Cyprus, which became a
full-fledged member of the European Union last year, vetoed the
discussions on the Action Plan with Azerbaijan, the same source
said.*