“The OSCE is one of the international organizations called to support coordination of the efforts by the international forces for the settlement of global problems and counteract challenges. At present the organization can receive relative assistance from the Caucasian states,” Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office Vladimir Pryakhin stated during International Conference titled “Between the Caspian and Black Seas: New Challenges and Possibilities for the South Caucasus”, organized by “Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM” , that started in Yerevan today. In his words, from the viewpoint of security and stability the South Caucasus can be divided into two categories. The first one includes permanent conflicts that originated during the soviet period, these being the Georgian-Abkhazian and Nagorno Karabakh conflicts that caused refugee flows and damaged political and economic relations. The second category called new challenges includes the conflicts caused by the changes on the political arena and tension that aroused between the rich and poor sectors of population. “Polarization can cover the whole region and become a new source of instability in the South Caucasus”, V. Pryakhin noted.
Besides, he noted that the OSCE is participating in the settlement of 5 “frozen” conflicts in the post-soviet region, three of them being in the South Caucasus. Their resolution will demand political preconditions for the rapid economic development and establishment of transport infrastructure in the region. He also emphasized that the acknowledgment of such challenges is an important precondition for successful negotiations.
In his opinion, one of the most negative problems for the social-economic and democratic developments throughout the South Caucasus is corruption. “Serious resources are under control of criminal groups undermining the reputation of state what is extremely dangerous at the initial stage of the formation of civic society”, the OSCE Yerevan Office Head stated. Besides, he said, the three South Caucasian republics serve as a natural bridge between Europe and Asia. In his words, the region is a strategic crossroad of trade ways.
