Dutch expert: NATO and EU to join efforts in South Caucasus

"The reasons for the change in attitude of NATO and the EU are found in a corresponding U.S. agenda, which even earlier started to follow a proactive course in this region. For the European countries, the issue of energy security has resulted in more attention for the South Caucasus due to rising prices, increasing scarcity and uncertainty of energy deliveries. Although the entrance of Georgia into NATO -- and subsequently Azerbaijan and perhaps Armenia as well -- might still take some years, it is probable that the relationship between NATO and the South Caucasian states will further deepen, with Georgia taking the lead. Similarly, increased ties between the South Caucasian states and the EU can also be expected, although membership of the EU for them seems further away than that of NATO, due to the enlargement fatigue within the EU," says the report titled "Current Geostrategy in the South Caucasus" issued by Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Marcel de Haas, the Senior Research Fellow on military doctrine, strategy, and security policy of NATO, EU, Russia and CIS, at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael in The Hague.

"Although formally denied, there is reason to believe that NATO has, or will have, a role in pipeline security in the South Caucasus, for clear geostrategic reasons. The EU is also likely to build up its activities in the South Caucasus, especially in energy infrastructure, economic development, rule of law, and probably also conflict solution -- for which it has a more independent reputation than does NATO. Consequently, NATO and the EU will share an upcoming long-lasting involvement in the region, which, by establishing a labor division in their best fields of expertise, may be able to bring security and prosperity to the South Caucasus," the report says.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/