Yerevan, Armenia, Arminfo, November 22, 2004: One of the obstacles to EU cooperation with the South Caucasus countries is Turkey's blockade of Armenia, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said at the Berlin Economic Forum on 19 November.

"It seems to us abnormal when a country starting negotiations for EU accession is blockading a member-country of the European New Neighborhood program," the Armenian president noted, adding that today there is a chance to settle the problem and it is in the EU's hands.

"In essence, the EU was established thanks to its founders' pragmatism. All this started not with the parliamentary assembly and ministerial councils, but with an understanding of the harmony of interests and compatibility of the value system. I should like to see the same in the member-countries of the European New Neighborhood program," the Armenian president concluded.