Azernews.Az

BAKU – A NATO official said after holding talks with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Tuesday that he had asked the Azerbaijani leader to continue supporting the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan.

"Azerbaijan is making a contribution with a peacekeeping contingent, with instructors in Afghanistan," James Appathurai, the NATO special envoy for the Caucasus and Central Asia, told journalists after the meeting. "I asked the president that Azerbaijan further support NATO on the Afghanistan issue as a transit state."

Azerbaijan is a key transit state for US and NATO supplies to Afghanistan. 90 Azerbaijani peacekeepers are serving as part of the international coalition forces in the post-war country.

Appathurai went on to say that bilateral cooperation was also on the agenda of his meeting with President Aliyev.

"We are already cooperating on several specific issues. But we could cooperate more closely," he said.

According to Appathurai, Aliyev touched on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict during the meeting with him.

"The Azerbaijani president expressed his stance on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. NATO is not involved in the conflict resolution process, but what’s clear is that there is no military settlement to the dispute and diplomatic solution is the only option. And that’s President Ilham Aliyev’s position as well. Azerbaijan adheres to a peaceful settlement."

Appathurai said further that during his visit to Azerbaijan he held meetings in a number of cabinet ministries. He said discussions covered a third stage of the Individual Partnership Plan (IPAP), a document the alliance has signed with the country.

IPAP envisions improvements in the military field, political and economic reforms. IPAP began to be executed in 2005. The first stage of the Plan was completed by January 2008, while the second stage covered the period until January 2010.

According to Appathurai, potential areas of bilateral cooperation include energy, cyber security and joint efforts in Afghanistan.

"I am leaving Azerbaijan with a whole list of points upon which the two parties have prospects for the development of cooperation."

Appathurai’s visit, which had been postponed twice, was the first one he paid to Azerbaijan as the NATO special envoy. He was appointed to the new position in November 2010 after holding the post of a NATO spokesperson.