TURKEY BECOMES KEY PARTNER FOR EUROPE IN CAUCASUS:REPORT

Hurriyet
Thursday, July 02, 2009 02:58

BRUSSELS – Turkey is becoming an important partner for the European
Union in South Caucasus, says a report, urging more cooperation between
Brussels and Ankara. The European Union’s regional policies will
be successful if it works together with Turkey and supports Turkish
government’s policies in the fragile region, a Polish institute says
in the report A Polish institute recommended on Wednesday that the
European Union cooperate with Turkey in the South Caucasus, underlining
the strategic importance of the region for the EU and Turkey.

In a report titled "South Caucasus: The Case for Joint Commitment of
Turkey and the EU," the Polish Institute of International Affairs,
or PISM, said the EU’s regional policies would be successful if it
worked together with Turkey and supported Ankara’s policies in the
region. Despite many constraints, Turkey was attempting to play a
more active role in the South Caucasus, the report said.

"Hence, it has become an important partner for the EU, whose interest
in the region has been growing over time. Turkey and the EU can
work together toward 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]," it added.

Key for stability, economy The PISM said the stability of the region
was also crucial for the security of Turkey and that the South Caucasus
region 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 noted.

In its report, the institute also said the region played a crucial
role in the EU’s 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 goals include the peaceful settlement of the 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
added. The PISM said Turkey could concentrate on the 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 the South Caucasus states should be aware of
their weakened international position following the Georgian-Russian
conflict and the willingness of the new Turkish foreign minister,
Ahmet Davutoðlu, to implement a new foreign policy based on the
concept of "zero problems with 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 Karabakh dispute would pave the way for normalization
of Turkish-Armenian relations.

The PISM recommended that the EU countries differentiate between
Armenia and the Armenian diaspora, and said the EU should take a more
critical stance toward the Armenian diaspora, whose actions were
harmful to Armenian interests. On the Nabucco natural gas pipeline
project, which will transport gas from Turkey to Austria via Bulgaria,
Romania and Hungary, the report added, "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." It also
said the EU should avoid creating the impression that Turkey no longer
had any prospect of membership.

PISMis a foreign policy think-tank based in Warsaw. It provides
research in international relations for policymakers, academics and
the Polish public. In 2009, the PISM was listed among the top 50
non-U.S. think tanks in the world.