International Conference
October 20-21, 2005, Yerevan
International Conference “Between the Caspian and Black Seas: New Challenges and Opportunities for the South Caucasus,” organized by the Center for Strategic Analysis "SPECTRUM" (sponsored by NATO's Public Diplomacy Division and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland) took place on October 20-21, 2005, in Yerevan.
Along the NATO and European Union enlargement, the South Caucasus is becoming a focus of increased interests of the European structures, trying to work out some mechanisms aimed at reducing the current tension within this region, including via creation of frameworks for cooperation not only among the three regional states – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, but also among their immediate neighbors. In this context, a substantial role belongs to the EU program “The Wider Europe: New Neighborhood,” as well as to many other more compact regional projects.
One of them is the “Wider Black Sea” project, within which they are trying to unite the Black Sea states in some common system to set up new frameworks of cooperation in such fields as security, democratization and economy.
On one hand, for the successful realization of that program such factors as Turkey's, Bulgaria's and Rumania's membership in NATO, their potential membership in the European Union, participation of the three South Caucasian states in the Partnership for Peace program and their intensifying relations with NATO, initiation of “The Wider Europe: New Neighborhood” project, as well as the special relations of Russia and Ukraine with NATO and EU, are very important.
On the other hand, the South Caucasus at the same time lies in the Caspian Sea zone, which is also in the focus of the strategic interests of all above-mentioned players, and one of the main reasons of their attention is the significant oil and gas reserves. The relative closeness of the region to Europe allows treating the Caspian states as a perspective suppliers of energy resources for the states, situated on the Western Shore of the Black Sea.
Thus, the formation of the security environment in the South Caucasian region and elaboration of the principles for the mutually beneficial cooperation must become a strategic task not only for the Wider Europe, but also for the Caspian states.
The program
First day: October 20, 2005
9.00 – 9.30 Registration
9.30 – 9.50 Opening addresses:
Dr. Gayane Novikova, Director, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM
H.E. Tigran Torosyan, Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia
Amb. Arman Kirakossian, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
PANEL A: South Caucasus : needs of security and stability
Session 1: The South Caucasus in the international projects
Moderator: Ms. Despina-Ino Afentouli, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO
09.50 – 10.10 Partnership after Istanbul & New Cooperation Schemes.
Policy Towards Caucasus. Dr. Romualds Ražuks, NATO Liaison Officer for the South Caucasus
10.10 –10.30 Amb. Dr. Vladimir Pryakhin , Head of OSCE office in Armenia
10.30 – 10.50 Coffee break
10.50 – 11.10 Tough Choices for BSEC. Amb. Sergiu Celac, Alternate Director General, International Center for Black Sea Studies, Athens, Greece
11.10 – 11.30 Finnish Views on Security in the Caucasus and Europe
Mr. Mikko Kinnunen, Counsellor, Unit on Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland
11.30 – 11.50 Meeting Security Challenges in 21 st Century.
Colonel James R. Howcroft, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
11.50 – 12.20 Questions to the speakers
12.20 – 13.50 Lunch
Session 2: Security Needs
Moderator: Dr. Michel Hess, Director of Studies and Training Center for Security Studies (CSS), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich )
14.00 –14.20 Security Deficit in the South Caucasus. Dr. Gayane Novikova, Director, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM
14.20 – 14.40 Conflicts in Georgia: State of Affairs and Prospects.
Amb. Shalva Pichkhadze, Tbilisi, Georgia
14.40 – 15.00 The Outlook for Security and Stability in Azerbaijan.
Richard Giragosian, Contributing Analyst, Radio free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Jane's Information Group, Washington, USA
15.00 – 15.20 Russian Interests in the South Caucasus. Dr. Mikhail Alexandrov, Head of the South Caucasus Department, Institute for CIS Countries, Moscow, Russia
15.20 – 15.40 New Challenges & Opportunities: Iran 's Potential Contribution in the South Caucasus. Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari, Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, London, Great Britain
15.40 – 16.10 Questions to the speakers
16.10 – 16.30 Coffee break
16.30 – 17.15 Discussion: GUAM : hope, prospects and reality.
Moderator: Dr. Irakli Menagarishvili, Director, The Strategic Research Center, Tbilisi, Georgia
19.00 – 21.30 Reception in honor of the participants of the Conference
Second day: October 21, 2005
PANEL B. NEW DEVELOPMENTS, NEW CHALLENGES, and NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Session 1: Expectations of neighbors and new threats
Moderator: Dr. Alexander Iskandarian, Rector, Caucasus Media Institute, Yerevan
9.30 – 9.50 Bulgaria and the Black Sea Region: Enhancing Democratic Development
and Security. Dr. Vladimir Shopov, Senior research fellow, Institute for Regional and
International Studies, Adviser on regional security issues at the MFA, Sofia, Bulgaria
9.50 – 10.10 The Presidential Elections of 2005; What does it mean for Iran and her Neighbours? Dr. Farhad Atai, Professor of Imam Sadegh University, Tehran, Iran
10.10 – 10.30 Redefining the Centrality of the South Caucasian Land Bridge: the Turkish Anchor for a Sub-Regional Integration Dr. Burcu Gultekin, NATO Manfred Worner research fellow 2004-2005, EU coordinator of Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council Istanbul, Turkey
10.30 – 11.00 Questions to speakers
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 – 11.50 Black Sea-Caspian Region: New Challenges and Threats within the Wider Europe Security System. Dr. Lyubomir Tokar, Scientific Secretary, National Institute of International Security Problems, National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine , Kiev , Ukraine
11.50 – 12.10 Militarization of the Caspian. LTC (Ret.) Sergey Sargsyan, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM
12.10 – 12.30 Questions to speakers
12.30 – 14.00 Lunch
Session 2: Macro – Region: Economics and Geopolitics
Moderator: Dr. Levon Barkhudaryan , Senior Advisor of AVAG Solutions consulting company, Yerevan, Armenia
14.00 –14.20 Dr. Armen Yeghiazaryan, Economic Team Leader, Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice Centre (AEPLAC)
14.20 – 14.40 Economic Cooperation in the Caspian Region: View from Russia.
Dr. Igor Prokofyev, Deputy Director, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, Moscow, Russia
14.40 – 15.00 The Potential of Cooperation Among the Caspian States in Oil & Gas Sectors: View from Kazakhstan. Maulen Namazbekov, Head of Department of Geoglobalistic and Economic Security, Institute of World Economy and Policy, Almaty, Kazakhstan
15.00 – 15.20 Questions to speakers
15.20 – 15.50 Coffee break
15.50 – 16.50 Round Table: New Challenges and Opportunities for the South Caucasus
Moderator: Dr. Gayane Novikova, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM
16.50 – 17.00 Closure of the Conference
List of Participants
Ms Despina Afentouli ,
Public Diplomacy Division, NATO
Dr. Mikhail Alexandrov,
Head of the Department of the South Caucasus, Institute for CIS Studies, Moscow, Russia
Dr. Farhad Atai,
Professor of Imam Sadegh University, Tehran, Iran
Dr. Levon Barkhudaryan,
Senior Advisor of AVAG Solutions consulting company, Armenia
Amb. Sergiu Celac,
Alternate Director General, International Center for Black Sea Studies, Athens, Greece
Richard Giragosian,
Contributing Analyst, Radio free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Jane's Information Group, Washington, DC, USA
Alexander Grigorian,
Researcher, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM, Yerevan, Armenia
Dr. Burcu Gultekin,
NATO Manfred Worner research fellow 2004-2005, EU coordinator of Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council, Istanbul, Turkey
Dr. Michel Hess,
Director of Studies and Training, Center for Security Studies (CSS) Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Swiss
Colonel James R. Howcroft,
United States Marine Corps Chair, College of International and Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Dr. Alexander Iskandarian,
Rector, Caucasian Media Institute, Yerevan, Armenia
Dr. Vasili Ivashko,
Deputy Head of the Political Department, MFA, Kiev, Ukraine
Amb. Dr. Arman Kirakossian,
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Armenia
Counsellor Mikko Kinnunen,
Unit on Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland
Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari,
Senior Consultant, Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, London, Great Britain
Ashot Melyan,
Researcher, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM, Yerevan, Armenia
Dr. Irakli Menagarishvili,
Director, The Strategic Research Centre, Tbilisi, Georgia
Maulen Namazbekov,
Head of Department of Geoglobalistics and Economic Security, Institute for Strategic Studies, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Dr. Gayane Novikova,
Director, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM, Yerevan, Armenia
Amb. Shalva Pichkhadze,
Parliament of Georgia, The Right Opposition Faction, Tbilisi, Georgia
Dr. Igor Prokofyev,
Deputy Director, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, Moscow, Russia
Amb. Dr. Vladimir Pryakhin,
Head of OSCE office in Armenia
Dr. Romualds Ražuks,
NATO Liaison Officer for the South Caucasus
Dr. Ruben Safrastyan,
Researcher, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM, Yerevan, Armenia
Mr. Mikhail Samus,
Expert, Center for Army Conversion and Disarmament Studies, Kiev, Ukraine
LTC (Ret.) Sergey Sargsyan,
Researcher, Center for Strategic Analysis SPECTRUM, Yerevan , Armenia
Dr. Vladimir Shopov,
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Regional and International Studies, Adviser on Regional Security Issues at the MFA, Sofia , Bulgaria
Dr. Lyubomir Tokar,
Scientific Secretary, National Institute of International Security Problems, National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
Dr. Armen Yeghiazaryan,
Economic Team Leader, Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice Centre (AEPLAC), Armenia