The Carpathian Initiative (C8) could help strengthen the role of Eastern European countries in the European Union and become a basis for developing alternative energy and logistics routes to Europe without Russia's involvement, Ivan Us, an expert at the United Ukraine analytical center and chief consultant at the National Institute for Strategic Studies (NISS), said.
"Economically, the eastern part of the EU wants to increase its importance, and this project could help achieve that. We are talking about alternative routes for supplying energy resources and goods to Europe without Russia's involvement," Us said during a discussion at the Interfax-Ukraine press center on "Carpathian Initiative (C8): From Regional Cooperation to a New Role for Ukraine in Europe" on Friday.
According to him, countries of the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, as well as the Gulf states could be involved in developing such routes. The expert noted that countries in the region are seeking opportunities to deepen economic cooperation with Europe and diversify transport and energy routes.
Us stressed that the Carpathian Initiative is a continuation of regional cooperation formats aimed at strengthening interaction among Central and Eastern European countries.
"The issue is increasing the agency of Eastern European countries. They seek not only to benefit from EU membership, but also to offer their own solutions to strengthen Europe's economic and energy security," he said.
The expert also drew attention to the prospects for using Ukraine's experience in defense technologies and unmanned systems in regional cooperation projects.
In his view, Ukraine is increasingly acting not only as a recipient of support but also as an initiator of new economic, security and infrastructure solutions for Europe.
"We want to be not a consumer of the EU's opportunities, but a participant that makes the European Union stronger. Such regional initiatives can strengthen the security of our region and Europe as a whole," Us said.
