Situation in Ukraine acquires traits of Southern Caucasus conflicts, experts believe

The participants of the hearings held in Yerevan "Possible Impact of Ukrainian Crisis on Southern Caucasus" stated that the development in Ukraine acquire traits of conflicts in Southern Caucasus. The crisis in Ukraine is the largest ever in the post-Soviet space; and it will lead to even stronger bonding of already existing regional alliances, said Giorgi Kanashvili, the executive director of the "Caucasian Home" Centre of Cultural Interrelations.

The event was held on September 20 within the framework of the COBERM (Confidence Building Early Response Mechanism) Programme, financed by the European Union under the management of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The "Caucasian Centre for Civil Proceedings" (Georgia) was the organizer of the event.

The events in Ukraine were "the culmination of the crisis that has been brewing up for years," said Tamara Terashvili, a journalist from Tskhinvali. According to her story, the idea of joining Russia "has revived hopes in a great part of the South-Ossetian population for reunification with North Ossetia."

In Georgia, with the advent of the coalition "Georgian Dream" to power in 2012, the government was headed by people, who practice a different approach to conflict resolution, said Giorgi Kanashvili and added: "The new government has voiced out a desire to normalize relations with Russia, and began offering a variety of initiatives in relation to Abkhazia and South Ossetia."

Due to the events in Ukraine, "Georgia has extracted the maximum benefit on its way to integration with the European Union and NATO," said the expert.