Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 19 2008

S.Caucasus Countries Suffer from Unsettled Conflicts: European
Parliament Rapporteur
19.01.08 11:27

France, Strasbourg 19 January / corr Trend A.Maharramli / The South
Caucasus countries suffer from the unsettled conflicts, Lydie
Polferm, an author of the European Parliament’s report on `The
European Union’s More Effective with respect to south Caucasus:
Transition from Promises to Actions’, sad in an exclusive interview
for Trend.

She said that the South Caucasus countries inherited the conflicts
from the Soviet period. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict particularly
complicates the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, poses
threats to security in the region.

With this respect Polferm offers to use rich experience of the EU. `I
hope the conflicting sides will soon resolve the problem. The
settlement of the conflict is important for both countries and
population of the region, particularly, refugees who have been living
in poor conditions for over 10 years,’ the diplomat said.

Polferm said that the attempts taken for use of force resolution of
the conflict would be the most terrible decision. The victory through
force will be never firm or establish political stability in the
region.

Polferm especially stressed the necessity of seeking compromises with
respect to solve conflicts. `We support the mediation efforts by the
OSCE Minsk Group, while the EU can render feasible assistance so that
the sides could go to proximity and dialogue. The EU has no intention
to dictate its initiatives, but simply offers its experience for use
in such situations,’ Polferm said.