Peter Semneby: The South Caucasus is getting closer to the European
border
14.01.2008 15:29
Tatul Hakobyan
"Radiolur"
The `Enlarged Black Sea Region: Prospects of International and Regional
Security’ international scientific conference started in Yerevan today.
The event has been organized by the Armenian International Economic
Policy Research Group assisted by the OSCE, NATO, the Kingdom of
Netherlands and the Union of Alumnae of the Yerevan State University.
The two-day conference features political and public figures, analysts,
scholars, political scientists from a number of countries, including
Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Addressing the conference, EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus Peter Semneby said the unsolved conflicts which are the
heritage of the collapse of the Soviet Union, double the challenges
existing in the region.
`The unsolved conflicts hamper the stability in the region and in some
cases present concern with regard to the possible escalation in the
future. Despite the unexpected economic growth in the region, the South
Caucasus is still associated with problems and conflicts.’
The most complex conflict in the region is that of Nagorno Karabakh. In
response to Radiolur question, Peter Semneby said one should never get
disappointed. `I still continue to hope that there will be progress in
the direction of the Karabakh conflict resolution. At this point
diplomacy continues and I hope that it will yield results. I hope that
the presidential elections will be a good opportunity for raising the
question.’
EU Special Representative Peter Semneby declared that after Romania’s
and Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union, the Black Sea Region
has acquired a special importance for the EU. He noted that the
countries of the South Caucasus have got closer to the EU border,
becoming full neighbors of the European Union.
According to Mr. Semneby, the development of relations with countries
of the South Caucasus is one of the priorities of the EU. The European
diplomat emphasized `the necessity of diversification of transport and
energy routes, where an important strategic role belongs to the
countries of the South Caucasus situated on the crossroads of Europe,
Central Asia and the Middle East.’
Peter Semneby called the Black Sea region `the place where world powers
meet to solve the issues of fighting organized crime, illegal
migration, opening of closed borders and unsolved conflicts.’