Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 26 / Trend E. Ostapenko /
Eliminating the position of the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus will not reduce the involvement of the organization in the region, the head of the EU office in Azerbaijan Roland Kobia said.
"The EU is being changed institutionally. Thus, the organization is being changed and developed. One thing is clear. Eliminating the position of Special Representative for the South Caucasus is not a sign to reduce the involvement of EU in the region," Kobia said at a news conference on Saturday.
EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby has completed his mandate, he said this at the final press-conference in Baku on Saturday.
Semneby paid his last visit to Azerbaijan as the special representative. Earlier, he paid a farewell visit to Tbilisi. Semneby's mandate as special representative officially expires on February 28.
The issue of abolishing the post of EU Special Representative in several regions, including the South Caucasus and Moldova - the outbreak of "frozen conflicts" is being discussed. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, made the proposal in May last year. According to her proposal, the post of the Special Representative must be combined with the post of the representative of the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Kobia said that the EU will continue to adhere to its values and interests. It still wants to promote them in the region.
He said that besides the EU delegation, there are 15 embassies of EU member-states in Baku, three of them have been recently opened. "I want you to be confident that the EU delegation and 15 embassies will continue their work to strengthen the ties with Azerbaijan in all directions", Kobia said.
Semneby called August 2008 when the region was shaken by hostilities as the most memorable dramatic moment of the region. Then, the EU played a key role. It was able to show that it can respond quickly to crisis situations, he said.
Semneby called discussing of several issues with the Azerbaijani leadership, including political dialogue, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, human rights, effective governance in media as productive.
He expressed hope that the positive trend on many issues in the future will lead to real results.