Frozen Conflicts Are Black Sea Area’s Soft Spot - Romanian President

"Our biggest fears in terms of regional security were confirmed this summer. Frozen conflicts became once again the soft spot of a region which is otherwise doing well in terms of demographics and economic growth. The shield of democracy was not enough to protect one of the countries in the region, Georgia, from secession. We may have been hasty in our support for the European and NATO aspirations of states in the region, Basescu said.

 

The head of state said supporting democracy and economic development in countries in the region may not be enough to create a stable security climate.

 

According to the Romanian president, one of the lessons of the Georgian conflict is that state territorial integrity and border inviolability must remain an essential component of international law.

 

"Consistency in applying these principles is they key to stability in the region, and events in recent months confirm this. What happened with Georgia showed that any frozen conflict can be reignited at any time. These so-called frozen conflicts have apparently stagnated, but are in fact a constant threat for the respective country, be it the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan,” Basescu said.