Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 19 2010
French Former FM: Europe could act with single position on
Nagorno-Karabakh issue (INTERVIEW)
Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 19 / Trend News E. Ostapenko /
French Foreign Minister acting in 1984-1986, as well as 1988-1993
Roland Dumas spoke in an exclusive interview with Trend News.
Q.: The European Union is at a turning point at present. The
structurehas changed noticeably after the Lisbon agreement came into
force in December 2009. How do you feel about this change?
A.: I think these changes are useful for the EU general structure.
Restructuring of the EU can help to facilitate the work, as the
procedure of decision making will be simplified. I hope that Europe
will be more represented in the world arena. New agencies and
institutions within the EU and new working methods will be useful for
future development. But it will take some time.
Q.: Can we expect Europe to become not only economical, but a strong
political Union?
A.: This is the main issue. I kept saying that the EU continues to be
the economic force in the world. We have a single market, single
currency. The political presentation of Europe in the world is not
enough. In future it will be difficult to solve economic issues with
the lack of a single political decision. Over the next few years it
will be necessary to work for Europe to became a strong political
player in the international arena.
Q.: Establishment of the European Army has become topical recently.
Does the new shape of Europe with the Lisbon agreement make these
plans more realistic?
A.: There is great ccomplication. It does not deal with the system of
European security. When President Francois Mitterrand took office, we
began to use the joint armed forces between Germany and France. This
is the way where the work should be continued.
It will be difficult to create a unified European army with the lack
of the coalition, withoutcoalitions of France and Germany. But it is
too early to talk about it. In the next few years it is necessary to
strengthen this area of activity of the European Community. After all,
if we want more involvement of the EU in international affairs, in the
international world, in any kind of conflicts, more powerful armed
forces are required. Then one can already speak of a unified European
army.
At present, some countries in their spirit are not yet ready to make a
decision on a unified European army. For example, Great Britain is not
ready for that yet. It is more inclined to Americans, not Europeans.
Q.: Do you believe thatthe establishment of the position of EU Foreign
Minister could increase the EU role in resolving conflicts, including
the territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh?
A.: It would be important to hear the voice of Europe, if Europe could
state about itself more loudly and act with a single position. At
present, Europe does not have such a voice, as the leading players in
the talks are the United States and Russia. There is no place for
Europe. The exception is the initiative of French President Nicolas
Sarkozy towards the ongoing conflict, which was voiced several months
ago. But this is not an institutional force. If we do not have it,
nobody will hear Europe’s voice.
Q.: Turkish accession to the EUhas becomeone of the hottest points
ofFrench – Turkish relations recently.What is your attitude toTurkish
accession process? How many perspectives does Turkey have? What is the
reason for such a strong resistance of France in this regard?
A.: I believe that there is persistence of Americans in this issue.
The U.S presidents made several trips to Europe to convince European
countries to admit Turkey into the Union. This fact raises some
suspicions. As long as Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic
Alliance, it would be difficult to admit it into the European
structure.
We have already solved many issues with Turkey on its accession. But
it is too early to speak about Turkey’s accession to the EU.
Personally, I do not oppose that Turkey to become a member of the EU.
But it is necessary to reveal all urgent problems and solve these
problems together with the Turkish side.
Q.: What ways of restarting Israeli-Palestinian dialogue do you see?
A.: For many years, I hold a clear position. I stand for peace in the
Middle East. I stand for support for the Palestinian government and
for resolving the situation through political means. Unfortunately,
Israel rejects the UN Security Council’s decisions and just
complicates the situation.
Another difficulty in this issue is Iran. I think that the countries
of Western Europe and the U.S. conduct wrong policy towards Iran. All
their actions are directed against Iran. But Iran is a country that is
situated near and one can not call it a peaceful country. This problem
should be solved differently.
I stand for peace with the Palestinians and for a peace dialogue with
Iran. We are moving in the wrong direction. If we do not realize it
and change tactics, we will face a war. Israel threatens in this part
of the world. We must have a more intelligent approach to the issue of
negotiations with it.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress