Tue 24 November 2009 | 14:35 GMT Text size:

Sabine Fischer

News.Az interviews Sabine Fischer, research fellow at the Paris-based Institute for Security Studies.

What kind of role can the European Union play in settling the Karabakh conflict?

I think that the EU in principle could play a more active role, and I think it has shown that it is able to do so and would be able to play a more active role on Karabakh.

At the same time the EU is not or not yet part of the official negotiation format, which is the Minsk Group. There is one EU member-state in the group – France, which is one of the co-chairs. But the EU itself is not yet part of that format. At the same time the EU has a special representative for the South Caucasus, who is involved in the Karabakh problem. And I think that the deeper engagement of the EU in the Karabakh conflict resolution process also depends on the parties to the conflict and whether they want the EU to become more involved or not. And also of course on other external actors, involved in the process.

Could the Eastern Partnership Programme between the EU and Azerbaijan and Armenia somehow facilitate the Karabakh process? 

The Eastern Partnership programme is not directly addressed at the settlement of regional conflicts. At the same time the Eastern Partnership very much targets internal stabilization, domestic, economic and political development and regional cooperation, not only in the South Caucasus but throughout Eastern Europe. This in fact could help stabilize the conflict environment. And so the EU could make a contribution to conflict resolution in that way. 

Do you agree that energy is the EU's major interest in Azerbaijan?

I think that it is a big mistake to believe that energy is the EU's only interest in cooperation with Azerbaijan. I think that the EU and its member states have many more interests in the whole region. The EU has developed very close contact with all states in the region, including with Russia. And I think that the EU and its member states have very huge interest in political and economic development, in prosperity and consequently in the stability of the region, because of course negative processes in this region have direct repercussions on the EU itself.

So I think one should not limit the EU’s engagement to the region to its interests in energy security. Of course, there is a huge interest in energy, but it is not the only interest the EU has in this region.

Azerbaijan is a Muslim state. Do you think that Azerbaijan could one day become a member of the European community, which today includes only Christian states?

As you know there is a debate inside the EU on these issues, more with respect to Turkey than to Azerbaijan. And of course many people support Turkey’s membership. The EU cares first of all about values and not about religious traditions. So in that respect I would say that yes, there are the debates in the EU, there are many supporters of the integration of Muslim countries in the community of European values. And that may be very important for Azerbaijan, which is already cooperating with the EU and already belongs to those neighbouring states which the EU wants to have close relations with. We are not talking yet about membership, but about integration in the wider European space. Azerbaijan is part of that.

And it also depends on what Azerbaijan wants. Does Azerbaijan really want to become a member of the European family or does it prefer a balanced foreign policy which is part of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy strategy.      

Aliyah Fridman
News.Az