Three top EU officials -- chairwoman and Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, Foreign and Security Policy Commissioner Javiar Solana and External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten -- visited Yerevan

Three top EU officials -- chairwoman and Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, Foreign and Security Policy Commissioner Javiar Solana and External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten -- visited Yerevan on 20 February on the first leg of a tour of the South Caucasus. Lindh told journalists after talks with President Robert Kocharian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian that she is aware of "a clear commitment and political will" on the part of the Armenian leadership to resolve the Karabakh conflict. She added that a peaceful and long-lasting solution to that conflict would facilitate closer cooperation between the EU and the states of the South Caucasus. Lindh said the EU intends to devote closer attention to the region in future. Patten for his part said the EU will continue to fund regional cooperation programs such as the TRACECA transport network and the INOGATE program.