East is crucial for Europe, says OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Lennmarker

"For Europe, what happens in the East, in Ukraine and Belarus, and in the Caucasus and Central Asia, is vitally important," said Goran Lennmarker, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in an interview on the eve of its 16th Annual Session that starts in Kyiv on July 5.

That is one reason why the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is holding the meeting in the Ukrainian capital this week, he said. It was also why the Parliamentary Assembly decided to hold next year's Annual Session in Kazakhstan and why he personally supports Kazakhstan's candidacy for the OSCE Chairmanship in 2009.

Lennmarker noted he had made a concerted effort to visit all countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus during his first year as President, with this in mind. In his conversations in all of these countries, he has stressed the need to work towards greater regional parliamentary co-operation and active participation in the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly.

"I would argue that after the successful enlargement of the European Union, the OSCE's work in conflict resolution and democracy-building must focus on the transitioning democracies in the East." As full and equal members of the OSCE and its Assembly, these voices must be heard, Lennmarker said. "We strongly prefer co-operation and dialogue over isolation and silence."

Focus on the East

The Assembly's increased focus East of Vienna is in the interest of the OSCE as well as of the region itself, he said. Intensified dialogue about common problems and the sharing of experiences can be of great benefit to all.

"An organization like the OSCE and its Parliamentary Assembly has an important job here, and as the only regional organization in which North America, Central Asia and the Caucasus, and Europe are all members, it is well suited to do that job," he said.

In the young democracies of both Central Asia and the Caucasus, much work still needs to be done. The President particularly pointed to the unresolved, so-called frozen conflicts, notably in Nagorno-Karabakh, but also in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria. These all carry high human, economic and political costs.

Lennmarker expanded on his own active involvement in seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan about Nagorno-Karabakh - first as the Special Representative on Nagorno-Karabakh of the Parliamentary Assembly and now as its President.

Golden opportunity

"For some time now, I have talked about 'a golden opportunity' for an agreement and now, after another visit to the Caucasus, I believe more than ever in that opportunity," said the President.

A good framework agreement that addresses the main concerns of all parties has been presented by the Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, he said. It is ready to be signed by the leaders of the two countries, if the political will is there.

"The alternative, a new war, is unthinkable." The advantages of a peace accord for the two countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan, are huge. Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons and refugees could return and re-start their lives. With a peace agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh, he continued, the two countries and Georgia could, in earnest, work to build a region characterized by security, democracy and prosperity.

He said that as Western Europe reaches out eastward, it was important to understand the difficulties in building new, independent nations. That work will not be completed overnight. But engagement must continue not just for the sake of these countries but for the sake of all of Europe.

Interview by Klas Bergman, Director of Communications at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly