Doc. 9705

13 February 2003

The expansion of foreign military presence in the Republic of Armenia and the danger of the violation of balance of power in the South Caucasian region

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mrs Shakhtakhtinskaya and others

Taking into account the redeployment in 2002 of armaments and military personnel from the disbanded Russian military bases in Georgia to the territory of the Republic of Armenia, this by no means promoting the achievement of military and political balance in South Caucasus,

Guided by the interests of establishing lasting peace and security in the South Caucasus as the most important basis for the stable democratic development of the region and strongly supporting the sovereignty and political independence of all South Caucasian states,

Noting that today the South Caucasus is one of the most sensitive zones in the European area, and taking into account the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and the continued occupation of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Republic of Armenia,

Proceeding from the necessity of maintaining confidence in the mediation of the Russian Federation within the framework of the OSCE Minsk group on the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, noting that it has military and allied relations to one of the parties of this conflict,

Striving to eliminate any conditions for dangerous repetition of dividing lines and group confrontation in Europe as a whole or in any of its parts, including the South Caucasian region that particularly suffers the hard consequences of the struggle for spheres of influence,

The Parliamentary Assembly,

Expresses its deep concern regarding the expansion of a foreign military presence in the territory of the Republic of Armenia which is in a state of conflict with the Republic of Azerbaijan and which has militarily occupied Azerbaijani territories,

Warns that the factor of the Russian military bases in the territory of the Republic of Armenia and Russian-Armenian mutual commitments in line with bilateral and collective military treaties should not influence the position of the Russian Federation on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,

Considers unacceptable the formation in the South Caucasus of confrontational gaps involving any external forces and underlines the danger of the violation of the general balance of power in the South Caucasus which may lead to unpredictable consequences in this sensitive region,

Urges the Committee of Ministers to keep in the centre of attention the problem of deployment/reinforcement of the capacity of the foreign military bases in South Caucasus in the context of settling the problem of the conflicts in the South Caucasus region and to express its view on this,

Requests the Secretary General and the interested governments of the member states to render active assistance to the Committee of Ministers by informing and declaring their positions on this issue.

Signed : ¹

Shakhtakhtinskaya, Azerbaijan, EDG

Abbasov, Azerbaijan, EDG

Açikgöz, Turkey, EDG

Agramunt, Spain, EPP

Aliyev B, Azerbaijan, SOC

Aliyev I., Azerbaijan, EDG

Barquero Vázquez, Spain, EPP

Berisha, Albania, EPP

Çavuşoğlu, Turkey, EDG

Čekuolis, Lithuania, LDR

Christodoulides, Cyprus, UEL

Clerfayt, Belgium, LDR

de Zulueta, Italy, SOC

Dobelis, Latvia, EDG

Fernández Aguilar, Spain, EPP

Frey, Switzerland, LDR

Glesener, Luxembourg, EPP

González de Txabarri, Spain, EPP

Gülçiçek, Turkey, SOC

Gündüz I, Turkey, EPP

Gündüz S, Turkey, LDR

Hajiyeva, Azerbaijan, EPP

Holovaty, Ukraine, LDR

Hooper, United Kingdom, EDG

Huseynov A, Azerbaijan, EDG

Huseynov R, Azerbaijan, LDR

Ilaşcu, Romania, NR

Jurić, Croatia, LDR

Karimli, Azerbaijan, LDR

Kovalev S, Russia, LDR

Kvakkestad, Norway, EDG

Loutfi, Bulgaria, LDR

Malgieri, Italy, EDG

Martínez Casañ, Spain, EPP

Mollazade, Azerbaijan, LDR

Nasufi, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, EDG

Severinsen, Denmark, LDR

Seyidov, Azerbaijan, EDG

Škrabalo, Croatia, LDR

Stoyanova, Bulgaria, EPP

Tevdoradze, Georgia, UEL

Tkáč, Slovakia, EDG

Truu, Estonia, EDG

van den Brande, Belgium, EPP

Wohlwend, Liechtenstein, EPP

Zacchera, Italy, EDG

Zhvania, Georgia, SOC

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group