EU FULLY SUPPORTS EFFORTS BY OSCE MINSK GROUP IN KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT PROCESS

ArmInfo
2009-05-29 11:52:00

ArmInfo. European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus:
"EU strongly supports a stable South Caucasus region with open
borders, taking advantage of all opportunities for prosperity",
OSCE press-service reported.

"The launch of the Eastern Partnership in Prague three weeks ago makes
it abundantly clear that the EU’s commitment to the region has been
raised to a new level of ambition," he added. The conflicts continue
to present a fundamental obstacle for the stabilisation, political
reform and economic development of the South Caucasus and regional co-
operation is crucial.

On the Geneva process, which the OSCE co-chairs together with the EU
and UN, Semneby said that it was "imperative that the discussions start
producing tangible results". So far one of the positive outcomes of
the Geneva talks was agreement on the Incident Prevention and Response
Mechanism (IPRM) between all sides.

On Nagorno-Karabakh, Semneby said that the EU continues to fully
support the OSCE Minsk Group efforts. "The EU stands ready to offer
support and any assistance necessary, in particular through stepping
up our own efforts in promoting confidence-building measures and
people-to-people contacts," Semneby added.