POLISH INSTITUTE RECOMMENDS EU TO COOPERATE WITH TURKEY IN CAUCASUS

Turk.Net
July 1, 2009

BRUSSELS (A.A) – 01.07.2009 – A Polish institute recommended on
Wednesday the European Union (EU) to cooperate with Turkey in South
Caucasus.

The Polish Institute of International Affairs prepared a report on
"South Caucasus: The Case for Joint Commitment of Turkey and the EU"
which underlined the strategic importance of the region for the EU
and Turkey.

In the report, the institute said that EU’s regional policies would
be successful in case it worked together and supported Turkey.

The report said Turkey, despite many constraints, was attempting to
play a more active role in the South Caucasus.

"Hence, it has become an important partner for the European Union,
whose interest in the region has been growing over time. Turkey and
the EU can work together towards reaching the shared goal of creating
an area of security in the South Caucasus, an outcome instrumental
to the development of economic projects (with a special emphasis on
energy issues)," the report said.

The institute said that the stability of the region was crucial for the
security of the Turkish state, and the South Caucasus was important
for the Turkish economy because it serves as the transport route and
supply corridor for energy resources from the Caspian basin.

"The South Caucasus is significant for the EU for similar reasons,"
the report said.

In its report, the institute said the region played a crucial role
in EU energy security because it contributed to the diversification
not only of energy resources, but also of delivery routes.

The institute said both Turkey and the EU shared similar goals of
stability and security in the South Caucasus.

"These include, the peaceful settlement of the "(un-) frozen"
regional conflicts in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Upper Karabakh; the
establishment of good governance in those states whose state-building
processes are still ongoing so as to assure that the region will
not become a threat in the areas of international organized crime,
terrorism or drug trafficking," the report said.

The report said Turkey and the EU could achieve their common goals
in the South Caucasus if the EU took action to strengthen Turkish
assets and mitigate the country’s weakness.

"This could establish an implicit division of labor between the two
entities," the report said.

The report said Turkey could concentrate on improvement of regional
security, consolidating its role as the region’s energy hub and a
model of political and economic development.

The report also said that the South Caucasus states’ awareness of
their weakened international position following Georgian-Russian
conflict and the willingness of the new Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet
Davutoglu, to implement a new foreign policy based on the concept of
"zero problems with the neighbors", and his readiness to use soft
measures in order to stabilize the neighboring regions.

Also, the report said the prospect for engagement in the
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process appeared slightly more promising,
and some sort of resolution of the Upper Karabakh dispute would pave
the way for normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.

In the report, the institute recommended the EU countries to
differentiate between Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora, and said the
EU should take a more critical stance towards the Armenian Diaspora,
whose actions were harmful to Armenian interests.

On Nabucco natural gas pipeline project that will transport gas from
Turkey to Austria via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, the report said
if Turkey and other consumer countries in the EU jointly negotiated
with the producer states from the Caspian region, the Turkish partner
could be helpful.

Also, the institute said the EU should avoid creating the impression
that Turkey no longer had any prospect of membership.

The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) is a foreign
policy think-tank based in Warsaw, Poland. It provides unbiased
research in international relations for policy makers, academics and
the Polish public.

In 2009, PISM was listed among top 50 non-US think-tanks in the
world.