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Spain's Moratinos To Visit S. Caucasus For EU

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  • Spain's Moratinos To Visit S. Caucasus For EU

    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
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