[R-G] Black Sea nations pledge economic cooperation despite political rows

[Anthony Fenton]

Copyright 2007 Agence France Presse
All Rights Reserved
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Agence France Presse -- English

October 25, 2007 Thursday 2:33 PM GMT

LENGTH: 568 words

HEADLINE: Black Sea nations pledge economic cooperation despite  
political rows

BYLINE: Sibel Utku Bila

DATELINE: ANKARA, Oct 25 2007

BODY:


Twelve countries from the oil-rich Black Sea region pledged to boost  
trade and economic cooperation at a one-day meeting here Thursday,  
but the political conflicts that separate them remained visible.

The meeting of the Organisation of Black Sea Economic Cooperation  
(BSEC) took place in a tense atmosphere with host Turkey, the current  
head of the group, threatening military action against Kurdish rebel  
bases in northern Iraq.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned in an opening speech that  
Ankara is determined to "take all necessary steps" to combat the  
Kurdish rebel threat and a US representative reasserted Washington's  
support for Ankara.

Serbia backed Turkey's crackdown on the separatist Kurdish insurgency  
and immediately drew a parallel with Kosovo, warning that the  
independence of its ethnic Albanian province would set "a dangerous  
precedent" for other countries with separatist-minded communities.

"Serbia supports Turkey's policies to restore stability along its  
southern border," Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the  
gathering.

"Recognising the independence of Kosovo will mean recognising... the  
legitimacy of one day partitioning any country against its will," he  
said.

Albania's deputy foreign minister Edith Harxhi hit back, asserting  
"the right of Kosovo... to enter a process of statehood."

Despite lingering political and territorial conflicts between  
members, the 12 BSEC nations have strived to develop closer economic  
ties since the organisation was established in 1992.

"The spirit of cooperation here is encouraging," Gul said.

The foreign ministers of Georgia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and  
Ukraine attended the gathering, while Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan,  
Bulgaria, Moldova and Russia were represented by deputy foreign  
ministers.

Participants conceded in a final declaration that "existing conflicts  
impede cooperation" and called for their "earliest peaceful settlement."

They pledged to enhance joint projects, notably in the fields of  
energy, trade and transport.

The BSEC region is the world's second largest source of oil and  
natural gas after the Gulf and a major transit corridor for Europe- 
bound energy supplies.

A senior US official, who attended as an observer, asserted that  
Washington does not seek to limit Russian natural gas exports to  
Europe, but insisted that diversifying supplies is crucial.

Russia is often accused of using its gas riches as a political weapon.

"We want the ability of Russia to deliver gas reliably to Europe ...  
to continue. But reliability also means diversity in supplies," US  
Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said.

"We strongly support anybody who seeks to diversify supply in gas,"  
he said.

A major aim of the BSEC is to upgrade transport infrastructure to  
boost trade and tourism, including projects for a 7,500-kilometre  
(4,660-mile) highway around the Black Sea coast and regular maritime  
links between the ports of member states.

Removing legal barriers to trade is another priority.

Members are also working on an agreement to facilitate visa  
procedures for business people and truckers transporting goods.

The BSEC covers an area of nearly 20 million square kilometres (7.7  
million square miles), with a population of some 350 million people.

Its member states have a total foreign trade capacity of about 300  
billion dollars (223.5 billion euros) a year.

Ukraine takes over the six-month presidency on November 1.