Azerbaijan hampered NATO mission: Deutsche Welle
Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan`s failure to allow use
of their air space has impeded NATO`s mission in Afghanistan,
Germany`s Deutsche Welle radio station has charged.
The source said the Bundestag (German parliament) had voted in July to send soldiers to Afghanistan to service NATO airplanes. The German soldiers were based in the alliance`s stronghold in the Turkish town of Konya for three weeks, however, they had to return home prior to embarking on their mission. Deutsche Welle alleges that the mission had not been carried out due to Baku and Ashgabat`s failing to authorize the use of their air space by NATO war planes.
German Defense Ministry spokesman Thomas Rabe has since confirmed the report.
However, Baku has neither confirmed nor denied the reports. Elkhan Polukhov, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said there are no problems with Azerbaijan`s cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan.
"This cooperation is ongoing successfully. Azerbaijan is fulfilling all of the commitments it has assumed as part of the [international] anti-terror coalition," he said.
But some Azerbaijani analysts do not consider the country`s current relations with NATO as successful at all. Elkhan Mehdiyev, who heads the Center for Conflict Resolution, believes that Azerbaijan has begun to view its collaboration with the military bloc in the context of rival Russia`s stance in the region. He claimed that, currently, NATO`s relations with Azerbaijan, in fact, do not differ from those with Armenia, Russia`s staging area in the South Caucasus region.
The source said the Bundestag (German parliament) had voted in July to send soldiers to Afghanistan to service NATO airplanes. The German soldiers were based in the alliance`s stronghold in the Turkish town of Konya for three weeks, however, they had to return home prior to embarking on their mission. Deutsche Welle alleges that the mission had not been carried out due to Baku and Ashgabat`s failing to authorize the use of their air space by NATO war planes.
German Defense Ministry spokesman Thomas Rabe has since confirmed the report.
However, Baku has neither confirmed nor denied the reports. Elkhan Polukhov, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said there are no problems with Azerbaijan`s cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan.
"This cooperation is ongoing successfully. Azerbaijan is fulfilling all of the commitments it has assumed as part of the [international] anti-terror coalition," he said.
But some Azerbaijani analysts do not consider the country`s current relations with NATO as successful at all. Elkhan Mehdiyev, who heads the Center for Conflict Resolution, believes that Azerbaijan has begun to view its collaboration with the military bloc in the context of rival Russia`s stance in the region. He claimed that, currently, NATO`s relations with Azerbaijan, in fact, do not differ from those with Armenia, Russia`s staging area in the South Caucasus region.
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