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EU keeps close watch on Southern Caucasus

06 April 2010 23:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton Tuesday welcomed the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey while anther high-ranking official kicked off a visit to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, APA reports citing News.xinhuanet.com web-page.
"The European Union encourages Armenia and Turkey to remain committed to the process of normalization and calls on both countries to ratify and implement the bilateral protocols without preconditions and in a reasonable timeframe," Ashton, high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said in a statement.
The EU welcomes the decision of the Armenian President to submit both protocols to the parliament as well as the recent declaration by the President of Turkey to remain committed to the normalization of relations with Armenia, said the statement.
Ashton said the EU believes that the full normalization of bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey would be an important contribution to security, stability and cooperation in the Southern Caucasus.
"The EU will continue to provide its political and technical support to this process and stands ready to help implementing the steps agreed between the two countries," the statement added.
Meanwhile, commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) Stefan Fule started a three-day visit to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia from April 6 to 9.
"Each and every of our partner countries is the master of its own success in getting closer to the EU," stated Fule prior to the visit.
The EU is offering through the Eastern Partnership closer economic integration, deeper political cooperation through the proposal to engage in negotiations of Association Agreements with the partner countries.
The visit is believed to provide one more opportunity to stress the EU intention to take forward the broad agenda it has developed with the three countries in the context of the Eastern Partnership, the statement said.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia each have an action plan under the ENP, designed to help, inter alia, their closer trade and economic integration with the EU, in particular through gradual regulatory alignment.
The implementation of the action plans should also enable the countries to progressively become ready to negotiate, implement and sustain a deep and comprehensive free trade area with the EU.
The new EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative launched in May 2009 builds upon the ENP and aims at overall enhancing the EU relations with the Eastern ENP countries, which has brought in particular a perspective of new enhanced bilateral framework agreements.