MosJan

THE EU'S INTEREST IN SOUTHERN CAUCASUS IS CONSIDERABLE 19.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 19. /Mediamax/. Foreign Minister of Sweden Anna Lindh said in the exclusive interview to Mediamax that the EU's interest in Southern Caucasus is considerable. The EU "Troika" intends to visit the region on 20-21 February. "The purpose of this visit to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia is on the one hand to increase EU commitment to the region and give it a higher profile there and, on the other hand, to show these three countries the EU's interest in them and in the region", Anna Lindh said. On 20-21 February the European Union (EU) "Troika" - Foreign Minister of Sweden Anna Lindh, the EU High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, and the EU Commissioner responsible for External Relations, Chris Patten, will pay a visit to the South Caucasian region. --0--

FOREIGN MINISTER OF SWEDEN THINKS IT'S EARLY YET TO DISCUSS THE TERMS OF SOUTHERN CAUCASIAN STATES' MEMBERSHIP IN THE EU 19.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 19. /Mediamax/. Foreign Minister of Sweden Anna Lindh said in the exclusive interview to Mediamax that it's too early to consider the terms of the possible membership of the Southern Caucasian states in the EU. "Regarding the question of Armenia's membership of the EU, I would like to give the same answer as the Union gives to all the countries that have a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU. The immediate concern is not the development of additional forms of cooperation or whether or not it is possible to become a member of the EU, but in an initial stage, it is a matter of focusing energies on implementing the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement already entered into with the EU", Anna Lindh said. "Armenia is part of Europe and we welcome Armenia's membership of the Council of Europe which we consider to be a natural involvement in the European cooperation structures and an important link in the development of relations", Foreign Minister of Sweden told Mediamax. --0--

EU IS READY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE REHABILITATION OF Artsax REGION 19.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 19. /Mediamax/. Foreign Minister of Sweden Anna Lindh said in the exclusive interview to Mediamax that the EU is ready to participate in the rehabilitation of the region, affected by the Artsax war. "Naturally, the EU views with concern the obstacle which the conflict in Nagorno-Artsax represents for political and economic developments both in individual countries and in the region as a whole. The Union is of course prepared to participate in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the regions affected by the war as soon as the preconditions have been created through an agreement and peace treaty between the parties", Anna Lindh said. --0--

FOREIGN MINISTER OF SWEDEN THINKS IT'S UP TO ARMENIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS TO AGREE UPON THE CONDITIONS OF NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS 19.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 19. /Mediamax/. Foreign Minister of Sweden Anna Lindh said in the exclusive interview to Mediamax that Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey must agree upon the conditions of normalization of relations themselves. When asked by Mediamax to comment upon the statement of the Armenian Foreign Minister that the recognition of Armenian Genocide and establishment of diplomatic relations with Armenia must be listed among the conditions of Turkey's membership in the European Union, Anna Lindh said "it is ultimately the parties themselves that enter into agreements concerning the requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to develop the regional contacts, no matter whether it is a question of diplomatic relations, the opening of borders or trade contacts". --0--

UKRAINIAN DELEGATION WILL ARRIVE IN YEREVAN TODAY 19.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 19. /Mediamax/. Members of the joint intergovernmental Ukrainian-Armenian commission for economic cooperation will arrive today evening in Yerevan from Kiev, Mediamax was informed in the press service of the Embassy of the Ukraine. On February 20-21 the second conference of the joint intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation will begin in Yerevan, in the course of which the project of agreement between the Ukraine and Armenia on economic cooperation for 2001-2010 and the interstate program of long-term economic cooperation between Armenia and Ukraine for 2001-2010 is planned to be initialed. The intergovernmental commission will consider also a wide range of questions on further consolidation of bilateral trade-economic relations in such spheres as industry, energy and transport. The member of the Ukrainian delegation will meet in Yerevan with the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Andranik Margarian. On February 20 the signing of the Protocol of the 2nd conference of the joint intergovernmental Ukrainian-Armenian commission for economic cooperation will take place. The official visit of Armenian President Robert Kocharian to the Ukraine is envisaged on 1-2 March 2001. --0--

IRANIAN EMBASSY ORGANIZES DISCUSSIONS ON "GLOBALIZATION AND ARMENIA" 19.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 19. /Mediamax/. The Embassy of Iran in cooperation with "Harmonious world" social initiative organizes Feb. 23-24 in Yerevan a round table on "Globalization and Armenia: variants and approaches". As Mediamax was informed in the Iranian Embassy in Armenia, the potential threats of globalization to Armenia will be considered within the frames of the "round table", in the work of which representatives of academic circles will take part. "Harmonious world" social initiative is founded by 14 social organizations of Armenia. --0--