U.S. doesn't see itself in contest with Russia for influence in South Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - The policy of the United States in the South Caucasus region is unambiguous: we want to help the nations of this region travel along the same path toward freedom, democracy and market-based economies that so many of their neighbors to the West have traveled, Mr Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said in his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee's "The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders" hearing.



"We believe that the ultimate place of these nations - which are, after all, a part of Wider Europe - ought to depend on their own choice and their own success, or lack of success, in meeting the standards of democracy, the rule of law, and responsible foreign and regional policies that the transatlantic community has established. We do not believe that any outside power - neither Russia nor any other - should have a sphere of influence over these countries; no outside power should be able to threaten, pressure, or block the sovereign choice of these nations to join with the institutions of Europe and the transatlantic family if they so choose and we so choose.



"Georgia has made a choice to join NATO. The United States and the nations of NATO welcome this choice, and Georgia's neighbors should respect it. Azerbaijan has chosen to develop its relations with NATO at a slower pace, and we respect its choice. Armenia's situation is different, due to its history and currently complicated relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, and we respect its choice as well.



"To be sure, these nations and Russia need to have good neighborly relations, based on a regard for one another's interests and just basic geographic proximity, but also based on respect for the sovereignty of the nations of the South Caucasus, and, in particular, their right to find their own way in the world. The United States does not see itself in some 19th century contest with Russia for "influence," much less a sphere of influence in this region or any region. This is not zero-sum. All countries - the countries of the South Caucasus, Russia, and the transatlantic community - would benefit from a set of benign relations among all the players, great and small, in the South Caucasus. To be blunt: the United States does not seek to exclude Russia from this region. That would be neither wise nor possible.



"In looking at the region as a whole, our strategic interests are focused on several issues: the advance of freedom and democracy; security, including counterterrorism and peaceful resolution of separatist conflicts; and energy. Our first strategic interest I have already described—the spread of freedom and democracy beyond the Black Sea and toward the Caspian. Each of the Caucasus countries has made important strides in this area, but each has further to go before we can say it has irrevocably chosen this path.



"On the second interest, we are working with each of these governments to find peaceful ways of dealing with the separatist conflicts of Nagorno Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia that stem from the breakup of the Soviet Union. We are also cooperating with each government in the global fight against terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and biological.



"On the third issue, we believe it is in the interests of the Euro-Atlantic community that Caspian gas and oil resources reach European and global markets expeditiously, free from monopolistic pressures and geographic chokepoints," Mr Fried said.