UKRAINIAN ENVOY TO TURKEY URGES USA, EU TO TAKE PART IN CAUCASUS PLATFORM

Anatolia News Agency
Nov 17 2008
Turkey

ANKARA (A.A) -17.11.2008 -The senior Ukrainian envoy in Turkey
expressed thought on Monday that big actors should also take place
in a Caucasian platform.

Sergiy Korsunsky, the newly appointed Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey,
said that big actors like the United States and the European Union
(EU) should also join a stability and cooperation in the Caucasus,
proposed by Turkey.

"Big actors like the EU and the United States should also take part in
the platform, besides Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia
because it will be difficult to develop this initiative without them,"
Korsunsky told AA correspondent in an exclusive interview.

He also said that the initiative could not be achieved without
big actors.

Korsunsky presented his credentials to Turkey’s President Abdullah
Gul at the end of October and officially began his mission in Turkey.

The Ukrainian ambassador welcomed Turkey’s role as a mediator in
the region, underlined importance of NATO membership for Ukraine and
expressed pleasure with Turkey’s support to this membership.

Korsunsky said his country would become a full member of the alliance
when it was economically, politically and militarily ready, and
underscored importance of Ukraine’s participation in NATO membership
action plan.

The ambassador said Ukraine was attaching importance to Georgia’s
territorial integrity. "Therefore, we will never accept so-called
independence of Abkhazia and Ossetia," he said.

On Turkey’s EU membership bid, Korsunsky said that he thought the
EU was a bit afraid of Turkey and Ukraine because two countries were
big and strong.

"Therefore, the EU is not sure whether it could digest countries like
ours," he said.

Korsunsky said that it took too much to launch full membership
negotiations between Turkey and the EU, and expressed his thought
that Turkey was ready to become an EU member more quickly than many
other countries.

"When Turkey becomes a member, it will enrich the EU politically,
economically and culturally. It is also same about Ukraine,"
Korsunsky said.

Korsunsky said 600,000 Ukrainians were visiting Turkey every year,
and defined Turkey as a very interesting and beautiful country with
its nature, culture and history.

Before he was appointed to Turkey, Korsunsky served as the director
general of economic cooperation department at the Ukrainian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.

Korsunsky served as a counsellor at the Ukrainian Embassy in the
United States and Israel.