Azernews.Az

An Azerbaijani opposition party has said it was high time the country determined its position on potential NATO membership.
"Azerbaijan is lagging behind on the issue. Taking this step soon would be very useful," the Musavat leader Isa Gambar told an event on the prospects for South Caucasus republics' relations with the military bloc on Monday.
Gambar recalled that another S. Caucasus state - western-leaning Georgia - has officially applied for NATO membership and Ukraine's bid is currently on the agenda as well.
"NATO membership would mean Azerbaijan's taking its place in the most outstanding security system," the party leader said.
He said admission to the alliance would also require bringing the country's political and economic freedoms into compliance with international standards.
Musavat executive Sulhaddin Akbar said Azerbaijan was not ready to make its strategic choice on NATO accession yet.
"There are two reasons for this. The first one is pressure from Russia, which is a [powerful] outside factor. Secondly, NATO demands political reforms in the country, while the authorities are not ready for this," Akbar said.
A NATO summit will be held in the Romanian capital Bucharest April 3-4, with a key issue being the alliance's expansion.
Azerbaijan is cooperating with NATO as part of the joint Individual Partnership Plan (IPAP) envisioning improvements in the military field, as well as political and economic reforms.
NATO has recently endorsed the second stage of the plan.