BLACK SEA COUNTRIES DISCUSS REGIONAL THREATS

The New Anatolian, Turkey
June 6 2006

Turkish State Minister Besir Atalay joined the leaders of Black Sea
countries on Monday for a summit at which they discussed ways to
combat the region’s drug- and people-smuggling networks, find ways
to tackle pollution and discuss alternative energy routes.

Delivering a speech at the Black Sea Dialogue and Partnership Forum
(BSFPD), Atalay expressed the hope that the forum would contribute
to efforts to make Black Sea a region of peace and stability.

“Turkey is for the improvement of stability, friendship and welfare
in the Black Sea,” said Atalay, noting the region’s strategic role,
particularly over the past 20 years.

Underlining the importance of regional cooperation for the development
of understanding among the area’s countries, Atalay said, “Turkish
policy is aimed at settling all disputes with its neighbors.

Turkey has settled most of its disputes with Greece and Syria and
hopes to normalize relations with Armenia.”

Atalay also stated that preparations are underway for the fourth round
of talks between Turkey and Armenia at the deputy undersecretary
level after the two sides failed to come to an agreement in their
latest round of secret talks, adding that he’s unable to give a date
for the next round.

Romanian President Traian Basescu, whose country is hosting the forum,
said that the region is facing new criminal and terrorist threats along
with uncertainty caused by insecure energy supplies. He added that the
region’s leaders have been called to manage and improve this situation.

“We know our problems … they’re problems inherited from a difficult
past, but there’s real potential for development,” Basescu said during
his opening speech.

“Putting the Black Sea on the map is a challenge in itself,” Romanian
Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu said in his opening speech
at the summit.

Among those present were President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine,
President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia, President Robert Kocharian of
Armenia, President Vladimir Voronin of Moldova and President Ilham
Aliyev of Azerbaijan as well as officials from Bulgaria, Greece
and Lithuania.

Other participants in the summit include top officials from NATO,
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
the United Nations and the Council of Europe (CoE).

Russia declined to send any high-level officials to the summit but
requested observer status. In his speech, Basescu called for Russia
to take part in the future development of the region.

“Romania considers there can be no regional cooperation process without
Moscow,” he said, highlighting Russia’s rich social, political and
economic resources. Russia was represented at the summit by its
ambassador to Romania, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Corina Vintan.

Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia directly border
the Black Sea, which is one of the world’s most polluted seas.

Its only outlet is via Turkey’s Bosphorus Straits.