FOREWORD
The end of the Cold War and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union uncovered a number of inter-ethnic problems and latent conflicts. The violent response of the governments to regional conflicts lent some legitimacy to secessionist states claiming sovereignty. As a result, the international community was also unable to prioritise between two major international legal principles at the core of most conflicts in the post-Soviet space; the right to self-determination and the principle of territorial integrity.
The Nagorno Karabakh issue, one of the unresolved post-Soviet conflicts, is critical not only to the vital interests of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, but also to regional stability and both the political and security concerns of the Russian Federation, Turkey, Iran, the EU and the USA. The current map of interests in the Caucasus includes three de jure recognised Caucasus countries: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also their neighbours: Russia, Turkey and Iran. The global centres of power also have interests in this region and the activities of the US, the EU and China significantly affect the balance of power in the Caucasus.
Armenia and its neighbours in the Caucasus live with unresolved conflicts. Nevertheless, Armenia believes and participates in regional cooperation and confidence building initiatives to pave a way towards a European future for the region. Many Armenians believe in a resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that will lead to peaceful coexistence between the nations of the Caucasus.
The EU has had little involvement in the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. This was in spite of its focus on the ENP Action Plan, which it envisaged as a key instrument for solving the conflict. The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), launched in 2006, raised general expectations that the process of conflict resolution would get a new impetus. Civil society and, to a lesser extent, the national governments, increasingly regard a successful implementation of the ENP as a key step towards a long-term sustainable resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As European norms receive a deeper and broader recognition, so do new alternatives to the classical power-based conflict resolution approaches.
This report reviews the background to the ENP implementation in Armenia and explores the linkages between the ENP Action Plan and the Nagorno Karabakh issue. The report also describes the mechanisms used by the international actors in the processes of conflict resolution. Special attention is paid to the role of the EU and to recommendations for future action of the EU in the region.
Tevan J. POGHOSYAN
Executive Director
International Center for Human Development (ICHD)
Yerevan, Armenia
