CROSSING POINT

At the end of 2009, the issue of creating a new European security system is the focus of the international community's attention again. A new wave of discussions was provoked by "the Treaty on European Security" proposed by Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev.

A new idea about new architecture

The idea was proposed by Moscow in June 2008 before the Russia-Georgia war. After about half a year, a specific document was proposed, presenting Russia's view of new security architecture.

Moscow proposes that all countries which sign the new Treaty on European Security consider an armed attack on other parties as an attack on themselves and give each other military assistance. The states also should not undertake international obligations that run counter to the Treaty. The document proposed by Dmitriy Medvedev is open for signing by all states of the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian area, as well as by members of major international organizations: UN, EU, CSTO and NATO. Hence, the motto of the treaty - "From Vancouver to Vladivostok".

In the West, Medvedev's proposal was met with mixed reactions. If a number of EU heavyweights, including Germany, France and Italy, have expressed their willingness to discuss Moscow's proposal, the younger members of the European Union - the Baltic States and Poland - see the Russian initiative as a threat to their independence.

Medvedev's initiative was also met with caution in NATO. After a two-day visit to Moscow, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen openly declared that there was no need for a treaty on European security.

Thus, the question of whether the Russian-backed treaty will get a start in life remains open. It is only clear that in any case, the reformation of the European security system cannot be avoided.

Azerbaijan and European security

In this context, it would be appropriate to examine Azerbaijan's role in the new architecture of European security. Azerbaijan's participation in this process is due to several factors which are of crucial geopolitical, geo-economic, geo-cultural, geo-environmental and military importance. The issue can be considered in two different aspects. The first aspect is the role of Azerbaijan and its contribution as an independent and self-sufficient country to the creation of the new architecture of European security. The second aspect is Azerbaijan's role as a member of regional geopolitical, geo-economic, geo-cultural, politico-military and other structures.

One cannot say that at the present stage of world development, there are absolutely independent countries - they are all interconnected with each other "to such an extent that humanity is perceived as a complex, open and non-linear system". The components of these systems are interconnected, and the existence of one depends on the existence of others. These "others" can be geographically located in the neighbourhood or at a distance of thousands of kilometres. Figuratively speaking, our world has become very "sensitive" in all aspects of life, both at the level of society and humanity.

For these reasons, it would be more constructive and effective to analyze the role of Azerbaijan in the creation of new European security architecture in the context of regional integration. By "region" we mean the Black Sea-Caspian basin. Both Western and Russian politicians and analysts see the Black Sea and Caspian basins as a single whole - all models of security focus on a single system of the Black Sea-Caspian basin. Such an approach is due to several factors, above all, energy factors and general characteristics of the globalization process.

In contrast to the approach taken by some experts who see the Black Sea-Caspian region as a buffer zone between Russia and the West, for Azerbaijan the operational definition of the term "Black Sea-Caspian region" is as follows: a region that unites the East and the West.

In this regard, it would be appropriate to consider, first of all, Azerbaijan's role in creating the new architecture of European security through a prism of trans-national energy projects.

Almost all Russian and Western experts, including experts from NATO, consider the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum projects as the main factors influencing the formation of a new security system in the Black Sea-Caspian basin that unites the east and west of the region. Moreover, almost all leading Western politicians and statesmen are talking about the special role of Azerbaijan in the Nabucco project precisely in the context of ensuring the energy security of Europe. This point is also considered in the context of regional cooperation which covers the entire Black Sea-Caspian basin. Thus, on 7 August 2008, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said while making a joint statement on the results of his bilateral meeting with Romanian President Traian Basescu in Baku: "Our energy policy is aimed at strengthening peace, stability and security in the region. Azerbaijan will continue its efforts towards ensuring the energy security of Europe." The Azerbaijani president also stressed the need for joint steps aimed at strengthening cooperation between the states of the Caspian and Black Sea basins. During a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on 10 November 2008 (ahead of the Baku Economic Forum), the EU Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs said that "Azerbaijan plays an important role in ensuring Europe's energy security." He called his visit to Ankara, Baku and Ashgabat a "Nabucco journey". The EU commissioner clearly stated that "my intent is to confirm to the senior leadership of these countries the political commitment of the European Union to the Nabucco project". He also spoke about the new EU document "Energy Security and Solidarity Action Plan". This once again proves that the energy factor plays a significant role in ensuring Europe's security. It is precisely this moment that takes centre stage in Azerbaijan's role in establishing a new European security system.

But the role of our country does not end here. The situation in the region is very complicated and differs by the presence of some contradictions of a geopolitical nature. NATO experts are talking about this specifically. Assessing the situation, they come to the conclusion that it is impossible to clearly determine the vector of the development of the situation in the Black Sea-Caspian basin today. According to the experts, although there are significant integration factors that contribute to the unification of the regional countries, we should not forget about the unique characteristics of region. Due to the complexity of the situation, it is a tool in the geopolitical game. Therefore, it requires personal attention to its problems. In other words, the Black Sea-Caspian basin is a site of the conflict of interests of various security systems. Azerbaijan considers this to be a significant point in its foreign policy. The strategy of Azerbaijan's participation in the creation of a new security system includes the principle of the balance of geopolitical forces.

Today, NATO and the EU have no well-established strategy for the Black Sea-Caspian basin. This fact is acknowledged by NATO experts as well. Moreover, they emphasize that access to the Black Sea is a strategic priority for Russia. On the other hand, the West considers the expansion of relations between regional countries and Euro-Atlantic organizations as promising.

Azerbaijan, meanwhile, is pursuing a policy of strengthening and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between producing countries, transit countries and consumers of energy resources and of creating the necessary enabling environment for the implementation of regional projects. To this end, Baku reinforces its policy of diversifying oil and gas supply routes from the Caspian basin to world and European markets via the Black Sea basin. In this context, one can mention Azerbaijan's real steps to build the Odessa-Brody pipeline in the Euro-Asian oil transportation corridor for oil supplies to Europe, to establish a new institutional structure for the Sarmatia international pipeline company in order to implement the Odessa-Brody-Plock-Gdansk oil pipeline project and its efforts to implement joint projects on gas transit to Europe via Georgia and Turkey, including the Turkey-Greece-Italy interconnector, Nabucco, etc.

At the same time, Azerbaijan is actively involved in programmes such as Partnership for Peace, Stability Pact and Black Sea Initiative, focusing in particular on specific programmes and initiatives. Azerbaijan actively supports initiatives to establish a Caspian-Black Sea-Baltic energy transit area for joint efforts to ensure reliable and safe transportation of energy resources. Admittedly, this is a serious contribution to the creation of a new European security system. Azerbaijan's commitment to this policy is most clearly seen against the background of the many years of struggle between the various security systems of the Black Sea-Caspian basin. It is known that on the initiative of Romania, the debate resumed on security and cooperation in the Black Sea basin in the spring of 2006. This issue was considered in the context of the programme "European Neighbourhood Policy." As part of this approach, an international conference on interregional cooperation in the Black Sea was held on 30 March 2006 in the Romanian city of Constanta. On 5 June 2006, the summit "The Black Sea Forum for Dialogue and Partnership" was held in Bucharest. The summit was attended by Black Sea heads of state, foreign ministers of EU member states, representatives of the United States, Israel, several international and regional organizations, businesses and experts. The organizers of the event made no secret that the security problem of the Black Sea-Caspian basin is considered "in the context of processes of Euro-Atlantic integration". However, this action was not continued. Perhaps, apart from Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), no other international Black Sea organization functioned effectively. Azerbaijan actively participates in the work of this organization which was initiated by Turkey. One could also note the work of the Danube Commission and the International Black Sea Club, but unlike BSEC, they have not been remembered for their performance.

Caucasus as part of Europe

In terms of creating a system of regional security in the Caucasus, more has been offered. Several options for establishing a security system have been initiated here. In early June 1996, Russia proposed a Big Caucasus model. But then, things were limited to a purely declaratory document "For interethnic accord, peace, economic and cultural cooperation in the Caucasus". Further events continued according to a different scenario. From 1999, several projects appeared at once: "Troika" (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), "Ten" (Russia, the three Transcaucasian states, two trans-Caspian states - Iran and Turkey, the EU and US), Caucasus Cooperation Forum (US project), the OSCE project (1999, Istanbul) and the Stability Pact for the Caucasus (2000, Turkey). Ankara resumed the latter after the August 2008 events between Georgia and Russia. The authors of all these projects gave Azerbaijan a central role in the creation of a Caucasus security system. Baku itself has always taken a balanced position in regard to these projects and in parallel, has carried out specific policies for regional integration with a strategy of integration into the Euro-Atlantic area.

Finally, Iran made two proposals to establish a security system, but none of them was crowned with success. Attempts were made by Russia and the United States. They are all still valid. But Azerbaijan continues to react to these initiatives with restraint.

Thus, despite rivalry between different security models in the Black Sea-Caspian basin, Azerbaijan has consistently maintained its policy of participation in the creation of a new European security system. Of course, Baku does not neglect proposals by its closest neighbours - for example, the same project by Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev to establish a new model of the European security system, of which the West is wary, and Turkey's Caucasus Stability Pact. But Baku considers them in the context of more meaningful participation in the new architecture of the European security system. In the new concept of its security, the West prefers multi-polar world models, which implies closer cooperation between all major geopolitical forces of the planet, including joint action by major military blocs - NATO and the CSTO. In this approach, the Black Sea-Caspian basin is seen as a geopolitical area that unites the West and the East. The most acute problem in this way is, perhaps, the unresolved conflicts. The "frozen conflicts" seriously hinder the process of establishing a security system in Europe. As a country that has suffered from such a problem, Azerbaijan is extremely interested in their prompt resolution. In this context, we can say that Azerbaijan's role will become more meaningful and productive after the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem.