Azernews.Az

Baku hopes that the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago will express its stance on Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity, an Azerbaijani Defense Ministry official told a conference in Baku last Friday.

Maj.-Gen. Ramiz Najafov, the ministry`s head of international military cooperation, told the conference, ``Chicago Summit - new opportunities for Euro-Atlantic partnership``, that decisions to be taken at the summit will give an impetus to Baku`s further cooperation with the alliance. Azerbaijan hopes that by remaining committed to previous decisions on the territorial integrity of states, the summit will reflect the issue of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity in its decisions, Najafov said.

NATO will be holding its 25th summit in US President Barack Obama`s hometown of Chicago on May 20-21. The summit will focus on three main themes: the Alliance`s commitment to Afghanistan through transition and beyond; ensuring the Alliance has the capabilities it needs to defend its population and territory and to deal with the challenges of the 21st century; and strengthening NATO`s network of partners across the globe.

According to Najafov, the main areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO are training and education, and bringing the country`s armed forces into line with NATO standards. Najafov stressed that the military airfields and vessels of Azerbaijan`s Navy already meet these requirements. Reforms in defense and security are continuing as part of bilateral cooperation.

``Certain results have been achieved in bringing Azerbaijani armed forces into line with NATO standards. These include technical improvements, compliance of military training programs and improvement of English language skills,`` he said.

Daniel Cristian Ciobanu, the Romanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, who coordinates cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO, said in his remarks that the NATO summit in Chicago will give a new impetus to boosting cooperation among Alliance members and partners.

He said Azerbaijan, as a NATO partner, could play a more important role in ensuring peace and stability in the world and in fulfilling tasks that the next NATO summit in Chicago will define.

Ciobanu said that so far Azerbaijan has been closely involved in restoring peace and stability in Asia, particularly in Afghanistan. He stressed that Afghanistan is grateful to Azerbaijan for its assistance to NATO in cargo transit to the country, expressing confidence that this cooperation would continue.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry official Gaya Mammadov said that Azerbaijan is an active participant of the alliance`s operations in Afghanistan and the alliance, in turn, may play an important role in ensuring regional security.

Mammadov said Azerbaijan and NATO cooperate in several directions: political dialogue, which is being conducted at the highest level, the country`s participation in NATO peacekeeping operations, assistance in mine clearance in Azerbaijani territories previously occupied by Armenia, and assistance in applying NATO standards in the Azerbaijani army.

``As is known, Azerbaijan is in conflict with Armenia, and in this context, some problems emerge in applying NATO standards in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Therefore, Azerbaijan needs the alliance`s assistance,`` Mammadov said.

NATO official Stefan Elgersma said at the conference that South Caucasus countries are important for the alliance.

``South Caucasus is important due to the transport corridor located here and there is also potential for an energy corridor,`` Elgersma said.

At the same time, he noted that there are unresolved conflicts in the South Caucasus which destabilize the region.

``This region is of great importance for the overall secure architecture in Europe,`` Elgersma said.

NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating in the field of democratic, institutional and military reforms, etc. The program of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO is set out in the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP).

Azerbaijan is seeking to achieve Euro-Atlantic norms and standards and integrate into Euro-Atlantic institutions. In this regard, support for security sector reform and establishment of democratic institutions are the key elements of NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.

In addition to reforms, another important area of cooperation is Azerbaijan`s support in the conduct of NATO-led operations. Azerbaijan has sent peacekeepers to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. In the past, the country also actively supported the operations in Kosovo.