SPAIN’S MORATINOS TO VISIT S. CAUCASUS FOR EU

Agence France Presse
February 28, 2010 Sunday 7:30 PM GMT

Spain’s foreign minister will visit Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia
this week on behalf of EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton,
the government said Sunday.

Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country holds the six-month rotating
presidency of the European Union, will travel to Armenia and Azerbaijan
on Tuesday and Georgia on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said in
a statement.

"Peace and stability in the South Caucasus are of particular interest
to the European Union, which is closely following the process of
normalising relations between Armenia and Turkey and the situation
in the enclave of Nagorny Karabakh and the territories of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia," it said.

"These issues, as well as those related to energy, will form part of
the dialogue to be established by minister Moratinos" with officials
in the three countries.

His visit will be "on behalf of" Ashton, who became the 27-nation
bloc’s foreign affairs chief late last year, to convey the message that
the three countries are "priorities for the EU", the statement said.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in October to establish
diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border, in a historic step
towards ending decades of hostility stemming from World War I-era
massacres of Armenians.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are embroiled in a long-simmering conflict
over the Nagorny Karabakh region.

Georgia’s Russian-backed rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
were the focus of an open conflict between Moscow and Tblisi in 2008.

Russia has recognised the two territories as independent states,
a move so far followed by only a handful of countries.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress