On December 11, 2012, the International Fund for Cooperation and Partnership of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea (BSCSIF), together with the European Foundation Titulescu organized a round table on the topic “Views on South Caucasus”
In the debate, moderated by Luiza Popa, representing BSCSIF, participated Ms. Paraschiva Bădescu, former OSCE Ambassador in the Balkans and South Caucasus, Mr. Liviu Mureşan, Head of Eurisc Foundation, Nicolae Iordache, former Ambassador of Romania to Turkey and Armenia, researchers Ms. Ileana Racheru and Mr. Ionuţ Cojocaru and Mr. Orhan Mammadov, BSCSIF project manager and economic adviser.
The theme of the round table represents one of BSCSIF major interests, for it concerns the region’s evolution and the unsolved problems of frozen conflicts. The ex-soviet republics of the South Caucasus region continue to be the stage for territorial and inter-ethnic conflicts, which, for 20 years have impeded the process of transition after the collapse of USSR, and the relations of these states with Russia and the West.
The participants made presentations on various aspects of the situation in South Caucasus, such as the economic potential, especially the energetic one, existent in the region and the possibilities of exploiting it (this issue was discussed referring to Azerbaijan); the perspectives of solving the Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia conflicts and the involvement of international organizations in this process; the progress of the political situation; new actors and their interests in the region; aspects of the relationships among the Caucasus states and between them and USA, EU, Turkey or Russian Federation.
On this occasion, two recently released books were presented: ”Unreconciled Differences. Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan”, by Skott Taylor, published in Bucharest with the support of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Romania, and ”South Caucasus after 20 years. Political Regimes, Security and Energy”, by Ileana Racheru, Stanislav Secrieru and Angela Grămadă, published with the support of Soros Foundation.
The event was attended by the representatives of the academic and scientific environment, by the organizations well-known for their activities and researches in the field of regional cooperation and international relations (Eurisc Foundation, Center of East-European and Asian Studies, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Romanian Association of Foreign Policy, Soros Foundation), members of diplomatic corps, journalists.
This debate is part of a series of events organized in the framework of a larger project, initiated by BSCSIF; it has as its final product the elaboration of an in-depth study regarding the socio-economic consequences of protracted conflicts in the space of former USSR and the perspectives of their peaceful resolution.
