LEADERS OF EUROPEAN STRUCTURES ACCUSED SOUTH CAUCASIAN COUNTRIES IN “LACK OF POLITICAL WILL”

In spite of the notable support by the Council of Europe (CE) and the OSCE, the election in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in 2003 fell short of international standards due to the apparent lack of political will to guarantee impartiality and transparency of the vote. This is said in the Joint Declaration passed in Kishinev by secretaries of the CE and OSCE Walter Schwimmer and Jan Kubis, chairman of the CE Committee of Ministers Nikolae Dudau and OSCE chairman-in-office Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, “Mediamax” agency reported. The declaration authors noted slowing down of democratic reforms in the South Caucasus. The leaders of the European structures stated that unsettled conflicts in the South Caucasus hinder democratic reforms, regional cooperation and further integration into Europe. The declaration authors expressed hope for new opportunities of conflict solution to appear after the election held in the three countries.