10:00, 21 November 2009

Politicians and experts discuss safety in Southern Caucasus at conference in Azerbaijan

The development prospects and safety issues of Southern Caucasus as a whole and Azerbaijan in particular were the debate points at the international conference "Safety Challenges in Southern Caucasus: Realities and Prospects of Regional Cooperation" held on November 20 in Baku.

Ziyafet Askerov, first vice-speaker of the parliament of Azerbaijan, criticized the USA, since in his opinion, "the US foreign policy became hostage of the Armenian lobby." He told about pressure of Washington on Turkey urging the latter to normalize relations with Armenia "without the respective pressure on Yerevan to liberate the occupied territories of Azerbaijan."

Archil Gegeshidze, who represented the Georgian Fund for Strategic Studies, noted that there is a contradiction between the aspiration of Southern Caucasus for Europe and Russia's policy in the region.

Oksana Antonenko, who represented the British Institute for Strategic Studies, expressed opinion that hopes for the international community at settling conflicts are vain, since for the USA, Russia and EU the problems of Southern Caucasus have never been a priority.

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent