CAUCASUS PLATFORM MAY PROMOTE FROZEN CONFLICTS RESOLUTION, TURKISH EXPERT SAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.09.2008 16:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s Caucasus platform serves the interests
of all countries in the region, according to deputy chairman of the
Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM).

"Such an alliance could serve the interests of all the countries’
involved. Turkey proposed to set up a platform for cooperation and
stability in the Caucasus to help the resolution of conflicts through
dialogue after the Russia-Georgia conflict," Murat Bilhan said.

"Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the countries planned
to take part in this formation had voiced optimism, however experts are
divided over the prospect of such a platform. I think Turkey’s proposal
as a positive step. It is highly achievable. Azerbaijan and Armenia
have already welcomed the proposal. Iran declared its immediate desire
to join. I believe that Russia will also be positive in its outlook,"
he said, adding that such an alliance could also contribute to the
resolution of frozen conflicts in the region, like Nagorno Karabakh.

"Turkey may host the headquarters of this alliance, as it did in
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) that was established upon
Turkey’s proposal by in Istanbul in 1994," Bilhan concluded, Hurriyet
daily reports.