GUUAM NEWS

Embassies of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan – Washington, D.C.- February 16, 2001

 


GUUAM:


The GUUAM Kiyv summit, initially scheduled for early March, 2001, which was expected to focus on the group’s institutionalization, has been postponed to a later date at the request of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Moldova.  Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev referred to scheduling conflicts due to his plans to visit Turkey and to participate in the Caspian states’ summit, while Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi explained his request due to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Moldova on February 25, 2001.



Azerbaijan:


*Ambassador Akshin Mehdiyev, formerly the Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Department for Europe, USA and Canada, has been appointed as the head of Azerbaijan’s newly-established permanent mission to the Council of Europe.


 


Georgia:


*President Eduard Shevardnadze paid an official visit to Turkey on January 29-30, 2001. He met with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Speaker of the Parliament Omer Izgi, former President Suleyman Demirel, and other politicians. The two presidents, who described bilateral relations as "Strategic Partnership," signed a joint declaration. The Georgia – Turkey ties were further strengthened by signing agreements on Defense Industrial Cooperation, on Establishing a Bilateral Regime for Keeping the Common Border Free from Anti-Personal Mines and Preventing their Use for Border Guard Purposes in the Future, and on Cooperation in the Sphere of Statistics. 




*On February 12-13, in Baku, Foreign Minister Irakli Menagarishvili met with top Azerbaijani officials, including President Heidar Aliyev, Prime Minister Artur Rasi-Zade, and Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliyev. Along with other issues, the two sides discussed prospects of bilateral relations, problems of regional cooperation and regional security, development of GUUAM, and implementation of the Caspian pipeline projects. Following the visit, the two foreign ministers signed a Joint Statement.




Moldova :


*The EU Ministerial Troika delegation, which was led by Sweden’s Foreign Minister Anna Lindh and included Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for Foreign Relations Christopher Patten and Secretary General of the EU Council Javier Solana, visited Moldova on February 14. 





Moldova (continued):


The EU representatives stated that the EU’s Partnership and Cooperation agreement represents the sound basis for strengthening the important political and economic cooperation with Moldova. They also voiced EU’s full support for Moldova’s accession to the WTO and full- fledged membership in the South-Eastern Europe Stability Pact. President Petru Lucinschi called for the start of negotiations on Moldova’s associated membership in the EU.  He also requested EU’s support in the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict as well as withdrawal of the Russian troops from Moldova by the end of 2002 in accordance with the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit decisions.




Ukraine:


On February 5, Georgian Defense Minister David Tevzadze visited Kyiv and was received by Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma. The President said he was pleased with the level of cooperation between Ukraine and Georgia and expressed his hope for further strengthening the bilateral ties. Mr. Tevzadze in turn thanked President Kuchma for the assistance provided by Ukraine in the wake of the severe drought in Georgia last year. Minister Tevzadze also met with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko to discuss the prospects of bilateral military and political cooperation in the Black Sea region, including pipeline security. While in Kiyv, Defense Minister Tevzadze and his Ukranian counterpart Aleksander Kuzmuk signed a cooperation agreement between the two ministries for the year 2001.




Uzbekistan:


* A U.S. delegation of experts from the U.S. Customs, the Pentagon, State Department, and other agencies visited Uzbekistan to discuss enhancing bilateral security cooperation. Earlier, within the framework of a mutual cooperation program, the U.S. provided Uzbekistan with modern equipment and personnel training.




* On January 31, a bilateral Uzbek – U.S. cooperation agreement on emergency situation was signed in Tashkent. The agreement   envisages joint measures to deal with disasters as well as training of experts, exchange of legislative documents. 




 


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Embassies of GUUAM countries -  Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova – in Washington, D.C. 


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