Toivo Klaar, EU representative on the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, referred to the role of the EU in the peace process and the response of the Russian Foreign Ministry to that role, according to which the EU wants to compete with Moscow and leave the latter out of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In response to the question "Why does Moscow react in such a way?", Klaar said:
“You have to ask the Russians about that. We have made every effort to emphasize to the Russians that, for the EU, this is not some kind of geopolitical game, as Mrs Zakharova likes to say at times. For the EU, this is about helping Armenia and Azerbaijan, our two neighbours, to overcome the legacy of conflict. That is our sole interest.
The South Caucasus is our neighbourhood, the EU's neighbourhood, as well, and for us, it is absolutely in our interest to have peace, stability and prosperity in this region, because if our neighbours are better off, then we are better off, it is as simple as that, and I would be happy if also in Moscow there were the understanding that, actually, if we had the same aim, then we can complement each other's efforts rather than seeing this as some kind of competition, which it certainly is not from our perspective,” Klaar said.
