GUAM chief says regional group open for other states
By Nigar Orujova
GUAM -- a group of four former Soviet republics -- may consider applications for membership from other states, Secretary General Valery Chechelashvili said at a press conference on the results of a GUAM session in the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Thursday.
Baku has hosted the two-day fifth meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of GUAM, which comprises Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. Issues relating to the activities carried out so far and prospects of further cooperation among the member states were on the GUAM PA agenda.
According to Chechelashvili, GUAM is an "open organization" and if a country sharing the principles stated in the statutes of the organization submits a bid for membership, this request will be taken into consideration by the foreign ministers of the four GUAM member states.
However, Chechelashvilli noted that a GUAM expansion is not the ultimate goal.
"Our aim is the development of quadrilateral cooperation and formation of a civilized partnership in the Black Sea and Caspian regions based on European principles, standards and practices of cooperation, for one simple reason that one of the main common foreign policy priorities of our countries is drawing closer to the European Union," Chechelashvili said.
Chechelashvili also stressed that GUAM does everything in its power to rally support of the international community for the position of its members on protracted conflicts, on the basis of unconditional and full implementation of the principles of international law.
According to Chechelashvili, all these conflicts have their own format, based on which a search for their peaceful settlement is undertaken. Moreover, the organization has a well-defined platform for the settlement of these conflicts.
Chechelashvili expressed hope for all parties' intensifying their efforts aimed at "finding appropriate solutions under existing mechanisms".
He also referred to the UN General Assembly draft resolution, the need for adoption of which was expressed in New York by the members of the organization. The document deals with the protracted conflicts in the GUAM area and their implications for international peace and security.
"This is a very complicated job requiring patient explanation of our position to all our partners, and I think that...the possibility of us securing a decisive majority of votes on this resolution at the UN General Assembly is very high," Chechelashvili said.
A statement issued in Baku following the fifth session of the GUAM PA on Thursday said the organization is concerned about the lack of progress in resolving the protracted conflicts in the GUAM member states.
The meeting agenda included the integration of the member states into Europe, cooperation within the EU's Eastern Partnership program, the role of parliaments in ensuring regional security, the energy potential of the regional countries and other issues. The meeting was attended by national delegations of the GUAM PA, delegations of the Baltic Assembly, parliaments of the Benelux countries, the parliamentary delegations of the Visegrad Group member countries, as well as representatives of ministries and other agencies of Azerbaijan, embassies of GUAM PA member countries and partner countries accredited in Azerbaijan.
GUAM was established by the post-Soviet countries in 1997 during the EU presidential summit in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the organisation, but withdrew four years later.