Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 14 2008

Unsettled Conflicts Impede Stability in South Caucasus – EU Special
Representative
14.01.08 18:47

Unsettled conflicts are impeding the stability in the South Caucasus,
positive changes and turning to institutional reforming, the EU
Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby said in
Yerevan during the international conference `Extended Black Sea
Region: Prospects of International and Regional Security’ on 14
January, Novosti-Armenia quoted.

`Despite the economic progress, the region is facing problems and
confrontations which do not directly proceed from economically
unfavourable conditions, yet are linked with security issues,’ he
said.

The difficulties are connected with the closed borders in the region
– between Russia and Georgia, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan and
Armenia and Turkey, which impede the potential use of the region,
Semneby added.

According to Semneby, a range of short-time benefits which the
population has gained from reforms particularly carried in the field
of freedom of speech and human rights do not have immediate economic
constituents.

`The region may be considered as a single whole only when the reforms
in these fields are carried out simultaneously in all countries of
the region, as well as in case the countries pay special attention to
the settlement of more prospective tasks,’ he said.

The EU has recently began forming more well-ordered institutional
relations with its partners in the region, particularly within the
framework of the New European Neighbourhood policy and through
developing relations with Russia and Turkey, Semneby said.

`These are our first steps in the stage-by-stage development,
although, EU’s involvement in the processes is of a probable nature,’
he stressed.

The conference on Expanded Black Sea Region: Prospective and regional
security was organized by the Armenian international policy research
group – AIPRG with the assistance of NATO, OSCE, the Union of
Graduates from the Yerevan State University and the Dutch embassy.

The participants in the conference are Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov,
the former co-chair of the Minsk Group, Ambassador Matthew Bryza, the
co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as delegates from Turkey,
Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Russia.