Marta Kos: EU to step up co-op with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Türkiye

The EU intends to intensify cooperation with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Türkiye within its new strategy for developing Black Sea and transport-energy connections, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, Report informs.

She explained that one of the main elements of the new strategy is a connectivity agenda aimed at strengthening ties between Europe and Central Asia.

"Today, we see how important and right a decision has been that the European Commission has started the new Black Sea strategy. One of these parts of the strategy is the connectivity agenda. Through the connectivity agenda, we are evolving in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye to better connect Europe with Central Asia. It is about trade, energy.

We see how vulnerable we are today when the trade routes in the north are disrupted through Russia, and when the trade routes in the south, because of war in Iran, are disrupted. So the way that is now available there is exactly what we do in the connectivity agenda," Kos said.

The commissioner added that during the meeting, ministers will discuss further steps to deepen cooperation with the South Caucasus states.

"So today we will discuss how to engage better with the countries in the South Caucasus, especially with those three countries I have mentioned before: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye, where we already have some concrete projects where we could start," she noted.