Armenian Parliament member: the Black Sea region is a permanent battlefield

In his opinion, the history confirms that the entire Black Sea region has a rather negative matrix of interests although there are certain attempts to cooperate, for example, on the level of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Parliamentary Assembly. ‘However, weakness of the BSECPA is a real illustration of the fact that people in this region are historically and mentally more inclined to confrontation rather than to cooperation’, Poghosyan believes.

According to him, just a while ago Ukraine seemed to be the region’s only country of peace and cooperation. Now, however, security threats concern all the countries having access to the Black Sea. ‘In this context, I would raise two questions: is this a problem of the Soviet Union’s having still not been broken up? Are we really where the interests of Russia and other countries collide?’ he said.

The Armenian Parliament member believes that Russia really does not know how to manage the developing situation and therefore ‘thinks that it’s easier for them to maintain conflicts rather than to manage conflict processes’. According to him, this will end only when the parties to the conflicts have drawn round the negotiations table, ‘solving their problems and not allowing any third country to interfere’.

Poghosyan noted also that Armenia tries to cooperate with various partners. For example, the country is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) but at the same time cooperates with NATO. In addition, he voiced the hope that now when Ukraine had signed a political part of the Association Agreement with the EU without its economic component, Armenia would also be given such an opportunity by Brussels.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The Kyiv Security Forum agenda is designed for 2 days and offers six panels open to the media representatives. The agenda can be amended, with amendments posted on the Forum’s website.

A separate area (Press Center) will be organized for the press, with equipped workplaces and Wi-Fi Internet access as well as live broadcast of all the Forum panels. In addition, a specially equipped area in the session hall will be reserved for journalists.

The organizers are ready to help arrange individual interviews with and comments from the Forum speakers on advance notice.

The Kyiv Security Forum annual international event, initiated by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007, is a platform for debates on the most pressing security issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum’s mission is to increase security cooperation between the European Union and the Black Sea region, raise awareness about security development among key players, and promote the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is supported by the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation, the NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Ukraine, and the Chatham House Royal Institute of International Relations (UK).

For information on the project visit http://ksf.openukraine.org/

The Open Ukraine Foundation is an international charitable foundation established at the initiative of Arseniy Yatsenyuk for strengthening public diplomacy and developing Ukraine’s reputation in the world. The Foundation achieves its goal by implementing the key programs: International Dialogue, Cultural Horizons, and Young Leaders. The Foundation is an organization of a broad circle of charity providers and unites around itself any people who care for Ukraine’s reputation and future.

For more details about the Foundation visit http://openukraine.org.