ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT CAN BE PROBLEM FOR AZERBAIJAN’S JOINING EASTERN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM: HEAD OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN AZERBAIJAN

TREND News Agency
Dec 2 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, December 2/ Trend News corr R. Novruzov/ The
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be problem in joining
Eastern Partnership program of the European Union, therefore the
European Union is going to reinforce its efforts in the settlement
of this conflict, head of the office of the European Commission in
Azerbaijan Alan Waddams said to Trend News.

This assistance will not run counter to or parallel to the activity
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Waddams said.

It will target at supporting activity of the Minks Group without
competition from the co-chairman countries, Waddams added.

The European Commission has created a new subdivision on Eastern
Partnership. The first meeting scheduled for the end of the year is
planned to focus on success of Eastern Partnership member states in
the process of integration to Europe and key ways of integration will
be determined.

On May 26, Poland and Sweden introduced proposals to the EU
foreign ministers to create a forum of eastern neighbors – Eastern
Partnership. It will be composed of 27 EU states including Ukraine,
Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Within the organization, talks will be held on cancellation of visas,
introducing free trade zones and concluding strategic agreements.