Gul: stabilized Caucasus could be gate between East and West
Stability in the volatile Caucasus would create conditions for economic cooperation and enhance ties between the East and the West, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said.
"That is why Turkey is pursuing active diplomacy to resolve the crisis in the region. Turkey proposed a Caucasus Cooperation and Stability Platform following a brief war between Georgia and Russia over the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia. The proposed platform will include Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, with which Turkey has no formal ties," he said.
"If you have stability in the Caucasus, and added to that if you have trust and confidence, then you have the right climate for economic cooperation," Gul said.
He noted that the region is also of key importance in terms of energy resources and safe transportation of energy from the East to the West.
"That transportation goes through Turkey. That is why we are working to achieve an atmosphere of dialogue, so there is the right climate to resolve the problems. Instability in the Caucasus would be a sort of wall between the East and West; if you have stability in the region, it could be a gate," he said in an interview with Newsweek magazine.
"That is why Turkey is pursuing active diplomacy to resolve the crisis in the region. Turkey proposed a Caucasus Cooperation and Stability Platform following a brief war between Georgia and Russia over the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia. The proposed platform will include Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, with which Turkey has no formal ties," he said.
"If you have stability in the Caucasus, and added to that if you have trust and confidence, then you have the right climate for economic cooperation," Gul said.
He noted that the region is also of key importance in terms of energy resources and safe transportation of energy from the East to the West.
"That transportation goes through Turkey. That is why we are working to achieve an atmosphere of dialogue, so there is the right climate to resolve the problems. Instability in the Caucasus would be a sort of wall between the East and West; if you have stability in the region, it could be a gate," he said in an interview with Newsweek magazine.
