YEREVAN. – Europe views the South Caucasus as a potential region from where it can get the energy resources it needs, CIS Institute Armenian Branch Director, political scientist Aleksandr Markarov, said at a pres conference on Friday.

In response to Armenian News-NEWS.am’s query regarding the forthcoming visit to Armenia by Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, the political scientist noted that the main topic of this visit will be the new document on Armenia’s European association.

“For example, the fact that Armenia has the best indicator among the six [EU] Eastern Partnership member countries from the perspective of small and medium-sized business is stressed in recent times,” Markarov said. “To maintain parity, Mogherini will visit not only [Armenia’s capital city of] Yerevan, but also [Azerbaijan’s capital city] Baku. This implies that regional security issues also will be discussed [during her visit].”

The analyst noted that Europe pays attention to ensuring regional security.

“But one thing is clear. Unless there is a final resolution to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict, the South Caucasus region cannot be a sustainable energy resource,” Aleksandr Markarov added.