The EU is ready to engage more in the South Caucasus, the EU’s High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has said in a blog post. Writing on the return of the foreign ministers of Austria, Lithuania and Romania, who travelled to the region on the High Representative’s mandate, Borrell acknowledges:
“There is a growing expectation on the side of EU member states and partners for the EU to take a more active role in addressing the conflicts in the Eastern neighbourhood.”
Borrell states that despite the EU never having a direct involved in the mediation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, it has not remained passive – supporting the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (France, US, Russia), “through confidence building measures such as projects implemented at the community level under the European Partnership for the Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (EPNK).” He reinforced his belief that supporting the work of the OSCE Minsk group remains the best way to resolve the conflict, whilst saying that the EU wants to be helpful in these efforts and is ready to engage more.
The EU’s top diplomat also highlighted the role of the Eastern Partnership as a tool for the EU’s engagement in the region.
Read the full blog here.