It was hard to imagine what the diplomatic settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would be during the signing of the ceasefire agreement back in 1994. As the winning side of the military conflicts, Armenia was going to demand that its military achievements be instated. On the contrary, Azerbaijan was going to claim that war is not a course to take for solving political issues, thus, if the result of military conflicts serves as a basis for conflict settlement, then reviewing that course will be the start of a new war.
Neither side came to terms for a decade and that’s not by chance; perhaps because each side thought it was right. However, it’s also perhaps because during the decade, the South Caucasus countries were so involved in solving their problems that they didn’t take note of the fact that world political issues made it to the South Caucasus. In particular, the formation and amplification of the European Union as a political pole and its entrance to the South Caucasus is the global event, which will perhaps eventually settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and stop the meaningless skid that’s been going on for years. This was exactly the reason why “168 Hours” had an interview with European Union South Caucasus special representative Mr. Peter Semneby.
– Mr. Semneby, let us thank you for opportunity of this interview and ask you to give a not too diplomatic, yet honest response to the following question: Is the European Union interested in the South Caucasus as a region and in what aspect-geological, political or what…?
– That question implies a couple of sub questions. First of all, is the European Union interested in the South Caucasus? The European Union is absolutely interested in the region, that’s for sure. In what aspect you ask. There are many reasons, such as energetic resources, transit road communication potential, being on the border with Russia, borders with Turkey with which the EU is leading negotiations on membership, etc. There are numerous reasons that make the region profoundly interesting to the European Union. This interest is what included the South Caucasus in the EU New Neighborhood policy program. The program is aimed to establish European values and standards; however it doesn’t lead to European Union membership. If at any point the EU decides to include the South Caucasus as a member, it will be done through the means of another mechanism. At the present, the important thing is to work in the field that was created and outline what must be done in the years to come. I assure you once again that the European Union is definitely interested in the South Caucasus in many ways. As to what extent those relations will reach, only time will show.
– How promising are the South Caucasus countries’ efforts to correspond to the requirements and standards of the European Union?
– The Individual activities programs have been signed with the three South Caucasus countries in light of the EU New Neighborhood policy. The main clauses of the document are stated in the Political section of the Activities programs. In all countries, the deepening of democracy, establishment of the supremacy of law, respect towards human rights remain the principal requirements and the European Union follows up attentively on the activities aimed towards that. The addresses on this or that political development or event are a signal sent to the governments of the South Caucasus countries, reminding them that they are in the center of attention and their activities must correspond to the standards. The fulfillment of these political responsibilities serves as the basis for all other types of relations.
– In my opinion, ethnic conflicts are the main political problem of region. Do you agree with that or do economic and other issues seem as heavy?
– In any case, I wouldn’t like to classify the major issues. Perhaps I should once again refer to the Political section of the Individual activities programs, which I mentioned earlier. The supremacy of the law, democracy and respect towards human rights that the European Union proposes to the South Caucasus countries solve many issues, including the problems concerning ethnic relations. When decent political culture, the custom of democracy and respect towards human rights are instilled in a country, it’s the guarantee that nobody can infringe upon the interests of a person, much less the society as a whole. I think that the roots of ethnic conflicts are found in the political field and they are, in some way, the result of the existing political culture. The efforts made to correspond to the EU are eventually going to create grounds for the settlement of ethnic conflicts. If we simply evaluate the situation, I also think that ethnic conflicts are a big obstacle standing in the way of regional development. Even in times of need, they don’t let the South Caucasus countries to unite as one, solve the issues and prosper. They really present a big obstacle.
– I don’t precisely know how many ethnic conflicts there are in the South Caucasus, or their similarities and differences, but it seems that the Abkhazian, Osetian and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts are different, at least when it comes to the possibilities of settlement. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a conflict between the people and states and both are going towards the same political structure and landing-the EU. It seems as though this is how the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is distinguished from the Georgian-Russian resistance in Abkhazia and Osetia.
– I agree that that there are circumstances, which instill some hope for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. All the conflicting sides are participating in the political process of moving towards the European Union and signal that as their course for the future. The EU New Neighborhood policy program is the path for development for all three South Caucasus countries. Similar Individual activities programs have been planned with the application of the standards and requirements and as a result, the countries have taken on the political responsibilities. As a result of this process, not only is the South Caucasus region moving closer to the European Union, but also new political fields and cultures with the same values, standards and structures are being formed and they are on the orbit of European policy. Throughout the course of time, the progress of political cultures will help the countries understand one another. It’s easier to solve conflicts when you are on the same path leading to the same goal than it is when the roads are different.
– During the Georgian-Russian crisis last fall, the Russian official mass-media were estimating Abkhazia and Ossetia problems nearly like pretensions of West upon Russian territories…
– (Mr. Semneby smiles-L.P.) – I would not put it that way, but Russia certainly stepped up its relations with the breakaway regions during that period.
– In any case, it seems as though there is no dilemma such as West or Russia for Nagorno-Karabakh.
-The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement will eventually become easier the more Armenia and Azerbaijan get closer to the European Union during their political course. When we see that the system of European values is established in both countries and that the individual will have his rights and freedoms guaranteed by the EU wherever he is on the border, there will be less distrust between Armenia and Azerbaijan. After all, the future must be peaceful, predictable and promising for the citizen wherever he may be on the border.
– In that case, won’t the participants of the Nagorno-Karabakh status referendum be more constructive when the South Caucasus future in EU or on its orbit will become more visible to common citizens? After all, in that case, even the issue concerning borders will become secondary as they won’t function in EU…
– Of course, people’s roles change when they have faith in the future and when the future is clear and predictable. When people are uncertain, they cling to their past; meanwhile it’s necessary to look ahead. After all, the European integration process must lead to the trust towards the future, where values, standards and rules are regulated and clear and each person can feel safe-not only from physical danger, but also secure about preservation of ethnic identity, cultural development and life in general, be it an individual or ethnic society. This is what the South Caucasus’ European integration process is all about. Parallel to this new reality, societies will slowly free themselves from stereotypes of the past, they will be more active politically and of course, as a result, they will be expected to have a more constructive approach towards the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.
– Mr. Semneby, since you are in Yerevan, Baku and Stepanakert, in your opinion, how honest are all sides when it comes to their aspirations for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement? Sometimes you get impression that they are more interested in getting time on their side.
– Time will be necessary in any case regardless of whether or not the sides sign a peace treaty. We must never forget that only the principal issues are going to be solved by the agreements. There are tens of other daily issues, which will be solved throughout the course of time.