EU’S OVERALL GOAL FOR THE REGION IS A STABLE, SECURE AND PROSPEROUS SOUTH CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 30, 2010 – 20:08 AMT 15:08 GMT

European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy, Mr.
Stefan Fule stated that throughout his trip to the South Caucasus
he "felt the presence of regional tension and the effects of armed
conflict which have so dramatically impacted on people’s lives."

"I appreciated in particular the possibilities to speak to internally
displaced persons in Georgia and in Azerbaijan; and to learn at its
headquarters about the challenging work of the EU Monitoring Mission in
Georgia outside Tbilisi. I firmly believe that the personal accounts
and stories of human tragedy have helped me to better understand the
challenges facing the people of the South Caucasus.

Conflicts have haunted the South Caucasus for a far too long time. In
my meetings I conveyed that the EU’s overall goal for the region
is a stable, secure and prosperous South Caucasus," he noted in his
address to EP Committee on Foreign Affairs on April 28.

"The Armenia-Turkey normalization process is very important and, while
I note the new development of last week, I am pleased that Armenia
remains committed to pursue this process. On Nagorno-Karabakh, the
EU will aim to step up its support to ongoing peace efforts. As for
Georgia, it is clear that the existing Geneva talks – as the only
forum where all partners sit together – must continue and lead to
concrete results beyond incident prevention. The Georgian strategy
with its principles of "engagement through cooperation" is a laudable
initiative which the EU supports," Mr. Fule concluded.