PROSPECTS FOR THE BLACK SEA RING
by Olga Stroinova
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

Source: Parlamentskaya Gazeta, June 28, 2006, pp. 1, 7
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part A (Russia)
June 29, 2006 Thursday

An interview with Federation Council member Alexander Dzasokhov; The
27th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation was held in Yerevan, Armenia. Federation Council member
Alexander Dzasokhov discusses the results of the meeting and the work
of this international parliamentary organization.

The 27th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (PABEC) was held in Yerevan, Armenia. Alexander
Dzasokhov, Federation Council member for North Ossetia, headed the
Russian parliamentary delegation. Dzasokhov discusses the results
of the meeting and the work of this international parliamentary
organization.

Question: You have the richest experience of work in international
parliamentary organizations. In the past, when you were a Duma member,
you headed the Russian parliamentary delegation at meetings of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Now you head of the
Russian parliamentary delegation to PABEC.

Alexander Dzasokhov: PABEC is the youngest interstate organization
that accumulates a big diversity of countries and peoples. It was
established at the beginning of the 1990s when serious disintegration
processes were underway in the Balkans. Afterwards, after breakup of
the USSR, contours of the former Soviet Union were really formed. The
tension of ethnic political conflicts is not relieved there. That is
why for us, for Russia, PABEC is very interesting.

Question: So to speak, member states of the Black Sea economic
cooperation form the Black Sea ring and, as we see, economy is the
basis for the organization’s name. One of the member states, for
example, Turkey has a stable state system. Some others are countries
of the Greater Caucasus that have acquired their statehood quite
recently. The region is very difficult. Do you manage to abstract
yourself from politics absolutely?

Alexander Dzasokhov: In working our of coordinated positions and
decisions the incumbent generation of parliament members, politicians
and state officials participating in activities of PABEC operates
results of the events of the last 10-15 years. What happened in the
Black Sea countries then had such serious consequences that it was
necessary to take this into account in agenda of the plenary meetings
this way or the other. PABEC was established when PACE and OSCE already
existed and this was not incidental that it was named organization of
the Black Sea economic cooperation because the founders wanted to get
abstracted from politics and from very difficult issues that sometimes
could not even be resolved. It is already possible to say that they
have been right. An organization was needed that could synthesize
political problems through solving of economic problems. You are
right saying that the region is difficult.

Let us recall that the ranks of participants of the Black Sea economic
cooperation were formed with big difficulties. The organization will
turn 15 years in 2007. Turkish politicians and parliament members
stood at the cradle of this organization. They never questioned the
fact that Russia should play an important role there.

However, those who started this large geopolitical project were
not ready to see the current composition of participants in the
organization, a part of them being in a state of conflict with
each other.

If the principle we will not accept any country having no Black
Sea coast or we will not accept any country that has conflicts with
the others has been followed the organization would not have been
established at all.

As a result of very difficult discussions and motivations there is
Armenia in PABEC because it is connected with the Black Sea countries
with life bonds. Now the organization includes 12 countries.

Countries located far from the Black Sea already manifested their
interest in their presence in the organization. For instance, Belarus
already received a status of observer. At the next general assembly
the Czech Republic will be included into PABEC. The US and Canada are
standing in a queue. I presume that sooner or later Middle Eastern
countries including Iran will enter the organization too. That is why
it is impossible to fully rule out the political components and this
would probably be not quite correct.

Question: Was the recent session of PABEC in Yerevan different from
the previous ones?

Alexander Dzasokhov: Unfortunately, we need to admit that unregulated
conflicts have the biggest density among the Greater Caucasus
countries. These are Armenia-Azerbaijan, Georgia-South Ossetia,
Georgia-Abkhazia, that is why I take the proposal of Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan "not to wait until regulation of all conflicts and
to start development of the economic projects planned a long time ago"
as a real political stance. Our economic plans should not be overlaid
on the conflicts that exist in the Black Sea region.

We should progress significantly in development of our trading,
infrastructure and energy projects that will contribute to resolving
of the conflicts hanging above our countries.

Question: Is there such project that can unite the conflicting
countries?

Alexander Dzasokhov: It is necessary to say that there is still a
huge deficit in correct and realistic representation of the role
of PABEC. Externally, there is frequency of organization of various
meetings and so on. As to the really meaningful part with possible
potential result in Russia and in the Caucasian countries it does
not exist yet. I am convinced that Russia with its southern regions,
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan should check opportunities of economic
interaction and then understanding and readiness for more efficient
and detailed participation in the Black Sea economic cooperation would
change qualitatively. Let us take, for example, energy being one of
the most problems for the region. Experts say that Russia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia have such hydro energy potential that they can
generate 140 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. However,
possibilities of hydro energy are used in the mountainous rivers of
the Caucasus only by 9-10% now. Turkey needs purchase of electric
energy and Caucasian republics need these resources too. Here is
already one project.

As you know, the European Union proposed a new transport project
TRASECA to connect European countries with Asia via the Caucasus.

This is a kind of clone of the Great Silk Road. The authors of
this project moved the route to the south of our borders under the
influence of political situation of the middle of the 1990s. Now
European countries, for example, Germany and Scandinavian countries,
understand that this project is expensive and it is necessary to
correct it. Natural and recreational wealth of the Black Sea with
their mineral waters is very big. This may be another joint project.

What is the most interesting what should be done now is construction
of modern transportation routes on the Black Sea coast. If four
countries, namely Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, worked
out common energy, transportation and environmental projects, I am
convinced that potential allies would join this "nucleus." First of
all, these are Iran and Turkey.

Question: Everything that we speak about is only a wishful thinking
yet.

Alexander Dzasokhov: History has proven frequently that relations
between big and large nations and between the states are primarily
determined by relations between the leaders of these countries and
nations. Of course, the epoch in which we work now is remarkable
because some leaders of the post-Soviet states probably think like
this: now it is possible to use the overall configuration of forces
and to strengthen our positions relying on the states located far
overseas. They think that the less is the influence of Russia the
bigger is the influence of Europe or America. Along with this, having
no common borders with Europe and moreover with America they wish to
become members of the European Union and NATO. There is an absolutely
different example of the group of leaders and post-Soviet states in
the Asian region who reflect expectations of their citizens more
accurately. Of course, relations among politicians and leaders of
the Greater Caucasus countries are uneven but the latest session in
Yerevan has shown that new trends appear in these relations. The next
28th general assembly of PABEC will be held in November in Azerbaijan
and I think that reassignment of the post of the chair from Armenia
to Azerbaijan opens new opportunities for strengthening of relations
in the Caucasus.

Question: To what extent is the executive branch involved in Black
Sea economic cooperation activities?

Alexander Dzasokhov: Discussion about the multi-polar world played
its role. Look how many serious regional organizations were created
by now. These are Council of Europe, European Union, CIS, Euro-Asian
Economic Community, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, APEC. It is
possible to say that multi-polar world is making its way. As for
representatives of executive branch bodies in activities of PABEC, I
will only indicate the issues that are discussed at permanent meetings
of representatives of the executive branch bodies. These are combating
of economic crimes, creation of tourist programs and simplification
of the visa regime. On the nearest agenda there is energy security. A
big work is being done by non-governmental organizations that send
signals to us with regard to migration issues and wages formation. In
the Caucasus alone more than 2 million people are involved in migration
processes. Incidentally, activities of PABEC are currently based in
the Caucasus. Now the general assembly was held in Yerevan. Azerbaijan
will chair it in the next six months.

That is why we hope very much that in the framework of our discussions
we will manage to increase the level of interaction of Russia and
other Caucasus countries.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress