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EU Keeps Close Watch On Southern Caucasus

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  • EU Keeps Close Watch On Southern Caucasus

    EU KEEPS CLOSE WATCH ON SOUTHERN CAUCASUS

    Xinhua General News Service
    April 6, 2010 Tuesday 4:10 PM EST
    China

    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.

    "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.
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