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FRANCE'S SARKOZY TO PROMOTE PEACE IN CAUCASUS
By Emmanuel Jarry
Reuters
Oct 5 2011
UK
YEREVAN, Oct 6 (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy will
urge Georgia to improve relations with Russia in a brief trip to the
Caucasus starting on Thursday, reviving memories of his mediating
role when the two countries went to war in 2008.
Sarkozy, who is trying to boost his ratings before an April
presidential election, will also encourage the leaders of Armenia
and Azerbaijan to resolve a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly
Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan.
He arrives in Armenia on Thursday evening, goes on to Azerbaijan on
Friday and spends less than three hours in Georgia before heading
back to Paris the same evening.
Sarkozy's success in mediating a ceasefire in Georgia's war with Russia
three years ago guarantees a warm welcome in the capital Tbilisi,
where he will meet President Mikheil Saakashvili and address a crowd
in the central Freedom Square.
Sarkozy will urge Saakashvili to look beyond the countries'
differences, including over how they interpret the ceasefire terms,
and rebuild trust in relations with Moscow.
"You have to pick up the thread of dialogue with more determination.
That is the message that Nicolas Sarkozy will send to Mikhail
Saakashvili, as he did to Russian leaders," a source at the French
presidency said.
Each side accuses the other of acting provocatively and sabotaging
relations. Moscow has angered Tbilisi by recognising breakaway Abkhazia
and South Ossetia as independent regions.
It was not clear whether Sarkozy would discuss Russia's bid to join
the World Trade Organisation which Georgia, as a member, could block.
Moscow hopes to complete its entry to the 153-member trading body
this year.
HOPING TO BOOST RATINGS
Sarkozy mediated the 2008 ceasefire on behalf of the European Union
as France held the bloc's presidency at the time.
That ended the war over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but Georgia
says Russia has violated the terms by not withdrawing troops to the
positions they held before the war.
TV images of Sarkozy addressing jubilant crowds will do him no harm as
he tries to improve his poor ratings before the two-round election on
April 22 and May 6. An opinion poll on Tuesday put Socialist Francois
Hollande well in the lead.
Sarkozy is expected to discuss the frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
with Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan in Yerevan and with Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev in Baku.
France has a leading role in the Minsk Group of countries from the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which is
trying to resolve the conflict.
"He will make a vigorous appeal for the Armenian and Azeri leaders
to show their openness and their sense of compromise," the French
presidency source said.
Armenian-backed forces wrested Nagorno-Karabakh from Azeri control
after the Soviet Union collapsed. When the conflict ended in a
ceasefire in 1994, 30,000 people had been killed and about 1 million
had been driven from their homes.
Sarkozy will also promote business during the visit but officials
gave no details of any planned contracts.
French oil group Total said last month it had made a major gas
discovery at Azerbaijan's Absheron block in the Caspian Sea. French
companies could also be in the running to help extend the Baku metro,
or subway. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi and Emmanuel
Jarry in Paris, Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/subbed-france-georgia-idUKL5E7L54RP20111005
By Emmanuel Jarry
Reuters
Oct 5 2011
UK
YEREVAN, Oct 6 (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy will
urge Georgia to improve relations with Russia in a brief trip to the
Caucasus starting on Thursday, reviving memories of his mediating
role when the two countries went to war in 2008.
Sarkozy, who is trying to boost his ratings before an April
presidential election, will also encourage the leaders of Armenia
and Azerbaijan to resolve a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly
Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan.
He arrives in Armenia on Thursday evening, goes on to Azerbaijan on
Friday and spends less than three hours in Georgia before heading
back to Paris the same evening.
Sarkozy's success in mediating a ceasefire in Georgia's war with Russia
three years ago guarantees a warm welcome in the capital Tbilisi,
where he will meet President Mikheil Saakashvili and address a crowd
in the central Freedom Square.
Sarkozy will urge Saakashvili to look beyond the countries'
differences, including over how they interpret the ceasefire terms,
and rebuild trust in relations with Moscow.
"You have to pick up the thread of dialogue with more determination.
That is the message that Nicolas Sarkozy will send to Mikhail
Saakashvili, as he did to Russian leaders," a source at the French
presidency said.
Each side accuses the other of acting provocatively and sabotaging
relations. Moscow has angered Tbilisi by recognising breakaway Abkhazia
and South Ossetia as independent regions.
It was not clear whether Sarkozy would discuss Russia's bid to join
the World Trade Organisation which Georgia, as a member, could block.
Moscow hopes to complete its entry to the 153-member trading body
this year.
HOPING TO BOOST RATINGS
Sarkozy mediated the 2008 ceasefire on behalf of the European Union
as France held the bloc's presidency at the time.
That ended the war over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but Georgia
says Russia has violated the terms by not withdrawing troops to the
positions they held before the war.
TV images of Sarkozy addressing jubilant crowds will do him no harm as
he tries to improve his poor ratings before the two-round election on
April 22 and May 6. An opinion poll on Tuesday put Socialist Francois
Hollande well in the lead.
Sarkozy is expected to discuss the frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
with Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan in Yerevan and with Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev in Baku.
France has a leading role in the Minsk Group of countries from the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which is
trying to resolve the conflict.
"He will make a vigorous appeal for the Armenian and Azeri leaders
to show their openness and their sense of compromise," the French
presidency source said.
Armenian-backed forces wrested Nagorno-Karabakh from Azeri control
after the Soviet Union collapsed. When the conflict ended in a
ceasefire in 1994, 30,000 people had been killed and about 1 million
had been driven from their homes.
Sarkozy will also promote business during the visit but officials
gave no details of any planned contracts.
French oil group Total said last month it had made a major gas
discovery at Azerbaijan's Absheron block in the Caspian Sea. French
companies could also be in the running to help extend the Baku metro,
or subway. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi and Emmanuel
Jarry in Paris, Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/subbed-france-georgia-idUKL5E7L54RP20111005