EU: ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE KARABAKH PROBLEM BY FORCE TO HAVE GRAVE CONSEQUENCES

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.03.2006 19:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Union will directly participate in
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, EU Special Representative
for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby stated. "Resolution of conflicts
in the South Caucasus will be one of the EU's priorities. This is a
signal for a deeper engagement of the organization in the settlement
of problematic situations," he said in an interview with RFE/RL. In
his words, he has "a slightly stronger mandate on involvement in
frozen conflicts." The EU representative acknowledged that both
Armenia and Azerbaijan are facing serious difficulties in terms of
their domestic opinion. "What may be necessary is to try to work with
public opinion in the two countries to convey the message that neither
side has anything to gain from playing on time," he said. "Armenia
will continue to be isolated if a solution is not found.

And in the case with Azerbaijan where there are forces that argue
that the country will gain economic strength and thereby also military
it is necessary to send a clear message that an attempt on the Azeri
side to resolve the conflict by military means will have very serious
consequences. It may not be successful in the first place, and it
will also seriously damage Azerbaijan in terms of its investment
climate and reliability as a partner."