Former Soviet states such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Ukraine must bury their differences and work more closely together if they want to reap the benefits of the European Union's plan for the region, dpa quoted German Chancellor Angela Merkel as saying today. The EU's Eastern Partnership will only be able to give Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine the trade and travel privileges they crave "if there is also functioning cooperation between the Eastern partners," Merkel said at the summit with the six states which launched the initiative. EU leaders hope that the partnership will help to stabilize its former Soviet neighbours by encouraging them to work together on conflict resolution and adopt free-market and pro-democracy reforms in return for trade and travel concessions. "Security and prosperity in Europe depend on the stability of the Eastern partners," Merkel said. That has become a pressing concern for the bloc following the war between Russia and Georgia in August and the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine in January. But ahead of Thursday's summits, EU diplomats said that the six partner states were resisting pressure to improve cooperation between themselves, pushing instead for privileged relations with the EU. In particular, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the war-torn region of Nagorno-Karabakh has overshadowed the summit. However, hours before the meeting opened, the presidents of the two sides agreed on "basic principles" for a possible future peace plan, international mediators said.
