Special Representative: NATO believes in vivid dialogue with Azerbaijan on security issues

NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai believes in a vivid dialogue with Azerbaijan  on security issues and plans to discuss topics of common interest in Baku.

"NATO and Azerbaijan have a broad range of common interests," Appathurai said in an interview with Trend." I believe NATO and Azerbaijan should have a vibrant dialogue on security issues, as political developments are taking place at a quick pace these days."

He said the sides should use this dialogue also to identify areas where NATO and Azerbaijan can develop further mutual cooperation.

Appathurai is expected to pay his first visit to Azerbaijan as the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus in June. Originally scheduled for March the visit was delayed due to certain technical grounds, NATO stressed.

Appathurai took the office in November 2010. He replaced Robert Simmons, who worked 7 years in this position. The Special Representative is intended to support working contacts with regional leaders to develop the objectives of NATO in the region by contributing to regional security and further promoting cooperative programs of NATO.

"During the visit, I intend to listen to your government’s views on the recent development of Azerbaijan’s partnership with NATO and discuss security issues of common interest," Appathurai said.

Appathurai also hopes to attend a closing ceremony of the NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund project, implemented with the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Actions (ANAMA) over the past 5 years.

The territory adjacent to the Saloglu village in the Agstafa region of Azerbaijan becomes more and more dangerous. After a spontaneous explosion an ammunition dump of the Soviet army, which was located here, were scattered within a radius of several kilometers.

To date, 623,712 units of ammunition have been revealed in Saloglu and the surrounding area.

NATO cooperates with the South Caucasus states - Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia in accordance with programs of the "Partnership for Peace "and" Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), as well as "Planning and Analysis Process". Those documents define the goals and intentions of NATO's talks with the partner countries on reforms in the defense, security and military policy.

The cooperation of the South Caucasus with NATO is regarded as a step towards European integration and security and stability in the region.

Azerbaijan has been cooperating with NATO within IPAP since 2005. The program was originally designed to last two years. Today, cooperation is held within the second phase of the Individual Partnership Action Plan between Azerbaijan and NATO, which covers 2008-2010.

Appathurai said the framework of NATO’s Individual Partnership Action Plan with Azerbaijan offers ample scope to do so, as it allows the two sides to set every two years new concrete objectives.

"The Intensified Dialogue is a different framework, designed for countries who seek to join NATO as a full member, which is not Azerbaijan’s case," he added.


/Trend/