SOUTH CAUCASUS IN FOCUS OF NEAREST NON-CAUCASIAN NEIGHBORS – KAZAKHSTAN AND UKRAINE

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.05.2008 18:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Internationalization of the South Caucasus is
hotly debated by Russian expert circles and three former republics
of soviet Transcaucasia.

However, the talk about outer (or regional) players, are as a
rule restricted to the ENP implementation in Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan, the Political News Agency reports.

"Meanwhile, the South Caucasus is in focus of the nearest non-Caucasian
neighbors – Kazakhstan and Ukraine. It’s also worth mentioning that
Russia has strategic allies in the CIS, whose priorities and interests
in the Caucasus are unclear. With the USSR decline, the former soviet
republics lost the "sense of solidarity and historical gratitude."

"Former Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev offered mediation
in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In 1991 Russia’s
first President Boris Yeltsin accompanied by Nazarbayev paid a
visit to the region. The journey resulted in a communique signed by
leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, in presence
of a representative from Nagorno Karabakh. At that time, Nazarbayev’s
mission was a failure. However, even after the USSR decline, Kazakhstan
pretends to the role of a post soviet space integrator. It focuses
on development of relations with Russia, U.S. and EU, what demands
pragmatism rather than ideology," the edition says.