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VISA FACILITATION DEAL IS ALL ARMENIA CAN GET FROM EU: EXPERT
October 2, 2013 - 14:21 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - At present, the main threat to the Sochi Olympiad
success emanates from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict region, a political
analyst said.
According to Alexander Skakov, the conflict will inevitably destabilize
the situation in adjacent regions of Georgia and Northern Caucasus
to further affect the safety as well as moral and physiological
environment of the 2014 Olympiad.
"Clearly, the escalation of conflict will put an end to the OSCE Minsk
Group's mediation activities, showcasing its complete inconsistency.
However, there seem to be no other volunteers to assume responsibility
for the future of the Caucasus. Potentially, CSTO, EU or NATO could
do the job. CSTO's lack of clear agenda makes it hard to determine
the organization's potential. The dangers of NATO's regional presence
have already been suggested, leaving EU as the only candidate, with
its much-hyped Eastern Partnership project.
With Belarus and Azerbaijan left outboard, Armenia, Georgia and
Moldova became the locomotives in the Eastern Partnership integration
initiative, setting certain hopes on a possible EU membership.
European officials, however, strongly question that possibility.
With no legal document expected to be signed in Eastern Partnership
framework, the only thing Armenia can hope for is the visa regime
facilitation deal," the expert noted.
Free trade zone could also be an attractive possibility, however
the latter requires production of competitive goods for the European
market. However, should the deal work, EU would get a chance to reduce
the expansion of the Eurasian Union, also decreasing Russia's spere
of influence, the expert concluded.
October 2, 2013 - 14:21 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - At present, the main threat to the Sochi Olympiad
success emanates from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict region, a political
analyst said.
According to Alexander Skakov, the conflict will inevitably destabilize
the situation in adjacent regions of Georgia and Northern Caucasus
to further affect the safety as well as moral and physiological
environment of the 2014 Olympiad.
"Clearly, the escalation of conflict will put an end to the OSCE Minsk
Group's mediation activities, showcasing its complete inconsistency.
However, there seem to be no other volunteers to assume responsibility
for the future of the Caucasus. Potentially, CSTO, EU or NATO could
do the job. CSTO's lack of clear agenda makes it hard to determine
the organization's potential. The dangers of NATO's regional presence
have already been suggested, leaving EU as the only candidate, with
its much-hyped Eastern Partnership project.
With Belarus and Azerbaijan left outboard, Armenia, Georgia and
Moldova became the locomotives in the Eastern Partnership integration
initiative, setting certain hopes on a possible EU membership.
European officials, however, strongly question that possibility.
With no legal document expected to be signed in Eastern Partnership
framework, the only thing Armenia can hope for is the visa regime
facilitation deal," the expert noted.
Free trade zone could also be an attractive possibility, however
the latter requires production of competitive goods for the European
market. However, should the deal work, EU would get a chance to reduce
the expansion of the Eurasian Union, also decreasing Russia's spere
of influence, the expert concluded.