CONFLICTS IN SOUTH CAUCASUS AFFECT FORMATION OF ATMOSPHERE OF TRUST BETWEEN REGION COUNTRIES
Trend
Oct 30 2009
Azerbaijan
Conflicts in the South Caucasus affect the formation of an atmosphere
of trust between the countries of the region, said EU Special
Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby in an interview with
Liberty Radio.
Answering the question on interconnection between the normalization of
Turkish-Armenian relations and the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, taking into account Turkish leadership’s statement that
ratification of the protocols and the opening of the border is
impossible without serious progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
Semneby replied that officially there is no connection, but nobody
can ignore the fact that each of the conflict, depending on the
direction of its solution, affects the confidence building amongst
regional countries.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.
According to Semneby, the EU welcomes the progress made in the
Armenian-Turkish relations, and looks forward to further deepening
of this process. "I think that the sides have reached more than many
could imagine. For us it is important that our partners and the EU’s
immediate neighbors – Turkey and Armenia – have normal relations,"
he said.
He said that signing protocols on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations is an internal process, and it should be discussed by the
parliaments of two countries.
Semneby also said that he would not like to speculate about how would
the settlement of Armenian-Turkish relations affect on the process
of Turkey’s accession to the EU. "Turkey still needs to do in the
way of entrance to the EU, but the normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations can have a uniquely positive impact," he said.
According to him, if in the next two months the sides reach the
ratification of the protocols, it will make very important and
constructive elements in the relations of Armenia and Turkey with
the EU.