CAUCASUS PLATFORM MEMBERS TO MEET
Hurriye
Nov 25 2008
Turkey
ANKARA – Five members of the Turkey-led Caucasus platform are expected
to meet by the end of this year for fully-fledged discussions, said
Russia’s ambassador to Turkey yesterday.
"The proposals submitted by the Turkish side concerning the platform
are appropriate for us and we will continue to work together,"
Ambassador Vladimir Ivanovsky told reporters on the sidelines of a
reception at the Russian Embassy.
"We expect positive signals from other countries as well and I hope
the representatives of five countries will begin collective discussions
by the end of this year," he added.
Turkey came up with the idea to set to up a Caucasus Solidarity
and Cooperation Platform in the wake of the Georgia-Russia war last
summer. The regional mechanism is planned to be made up of Turkey,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Georgia. Tbilisi has so far opposed
sitting at the same table as Moscow before the withdrawal of Russian
troops from its soil, but diplomatic sources earlier said the Georgians
are now looking warm on the idea.
Last Friday, the Russian deputy foreign minister, Vladimir Titov,
held consultations with the deputy undersecretary of the Turkish
foreign ministry, Ambassador Unal Ceviköz, concerning the Caucasus
platform, the ambassador said.
Ivanovsky welcomed the process of rapprochement between Turkey and
Armenia as "very constructive" and "positive." He expressed the
hope that positive consequences would emerge from the meeting in
Istanbul between Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his Armenian
counterpart, Edward Nalbandian.
The Russian ambassador also signaled a reduction in natural gas prices
in the coming months.
"The gas prices depend on oil prices, to a large extent. As oil prices
are tending to drop these days, gas prices for European consumers could
reduce," he said. "But I assume that will not happen very fast. Gas
prices could gradually start to drop for European consumers in the
coming one to two months, at least according to data we have. This
is also valid for Turkey."
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress