Baku is hosting the conference “Geopolitics of the Caspian-Black Sea Region: security problems." The talks were organized by the office for development of information and science ties with countries of the Caucasus of the North-South Center for Political Analysis in Baku, Vestnik Kavkaza and Trend.
Alexey Vlasov, Executive Director of the North-South Center for Political Analysis and moderator of the conference, noted that the role of expert communications was rising and they needed to compare notes. Regular meetings would prevent wrong evaluations.
Fikret Sadykhov, a Professor of the Western University, said that the situation in Ukraine affected the region. He condemns politicians who ousted fugitive President Victor Yanukovych. The expert predicts that the situation with security of the Caspian Sea would improve after conclusion of the Iranian nuclear profile.
Vladimir Yevseyev, Director of the Center for Socio-Political Studies, noted the need for a new security model in the region, basing on cooperation between Russia, Turkey and Iran. He expects no help from the NATO and US and reminded about the situation in Syria.
Rasim Musabekov, an Azerbaijani MP, noted that appearance of non-regional players in the Caspian Region was unlikely. He emphasized that Azerbaijan was intensifying military contacts with Russia and other leading states. The expert believes that the situation around the Qabala Radar should not be a reason for discords. Musabekov said that Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and other regional states were working on infrastructure projects.
Gulnara Mamedzadeh, Director General of News Azerbaijan, said that risks around the Caspian-Black Sea Region were rising all over the perimeter.
She noted that the Vilnius summit had been followed by an attempt to reformat the political space of post-Soviet states as a response to formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.
The expert believes that non-regional forces seek for control over the region or try to impose an unbeneficial bargain on Russia, as seen in Ukraine. She wants expert communication to be intensified to make forecasts more correct.
Anton Finko, an expert at the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflict Analysis, said that the situation in Ukraine could not be resolved with neglect of interests of the East, South-East and Crimea.
He warned that all sides needed to take part in the dialogue and take Russia's interests into account. The expert predicts continuation of the Ukrainian crisis and emphasizes militarization of the Caspian-Black Sea Region. Finko said that the controlled chaos in Ukraine will face problems with stabilization.
Khaldun Yaslinskaya, a Turkish Professor and Doctor of Politics, said that Turkey was concerned over the attitude of the NATO and other states towards the Caspian and Black Sea.
She proposed settlement of any problems with the help of the BSEC. The professor reminded that Ankara had always searched for peaceful solutions to disputes. The expert noted that Turkey was opposed to strengthening of non-regional players in the area.
Alexander Imedashvili, a journalist of News Georgia, reminded that Karasin (Russia) and Abashidze (Georgia) postponed postponed their meeting because of the situation in Ukraine, He noted that Georgian business was happy with normalization of relations with Russia and expected a visa-free regime. The expert believes that the majority of Georgians did not want to join the NATO. Successors of President Saakashvili show a more careful attitude towards the Alliance.
