Statement

Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished colleagues,

Strengthening of the role of Partnership as part of the overall transformation of the Alliance as well as bolstering its capability to address new threats and risks to international security should remain the priority for our joint work in the months to come.

We highly value the acknowledgement by the Alliance that Partnership with countries of the strategically important region of South Caucasus has greatly contributed to security and stability throughout the Euro-Atlantic area and we stand ready to contribute to this process further.

Azerbaijan's active use of existing PfP tools has seriously increased the level of interoperability of our troops with the Allied forces and we are committed to do more in this regard. We train our peacekeeping forces in accordance with NATO standards. Another example is that recently three Azerbaijani officers were appointed to NATO Staff elements in Norfolk, Naples and here, in the International Military Staff. We underline the continued importance of the Planning and Review Process (PARP) and strongly support the PARP Ministerial Guidance 2003 that builds upon the historic Prague Summit decisions and emphasizes the possibility of extending the scope of PARP with the goal of enhancing specific security sector capabilities including those critical for the defence against terrorist attacks.

As a Nation actively participating in global efforts to counter terrorism, Azerbaijan attaches great importance to NATO's Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism (PAPT). We are ready to build bilateral and multilateral cooperation both with Allies and Partners through this new mechanism. The high quality of cooperation of Allies and Partners at the operational level across the whole spectrum of the security sector will be crucial to the success of this endeavor.

We welcome the decision taken by NATO to take over the command of the ISAF peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. To develop activities of our unit in operations in Afghanistan, presently we are intended to take part in the operational planning and command arrangements of ISAF.

In an effort to contribute to the process of peaceful and democratic reconstruction in Iraq we are finalizing our preparations to dispatch considerable peacekeeping contingent to join the operations of international coalition in Iraq.

With regard to our overall relationship with NATO, we stand for the steady promotion of our practical cooperation up to the level of integrational interoperability and partnership. We have expressed our support to the IPAP mechanism that we believe could systematize and harmonize all spheres of our partnership pertinent to NATO's objectives and Azerbaijan's particular needs and interests and will elevate it to the level of integration. In moving along this road, assistance from the Allies as well as experience sharing from the Invitees and MAP members will be crucial to us.

Allow me at the end to touch upon a couple of issues of concrete practical nature.

We again signal as one of our priorities the goal of upgrading the existing National Training Center in Azerbaijan to the level of a recognized NATO/PfP Training Center. We welcome the interest of some Allies to help us in this regard and stand ready to proceed with concrete practical work as soon as possible. We believe that such a PfP Training Center could be attractive enough for all by having its niche capability and may be of particular interest to the countries in neighbouring regions.

Using this opportunity I would like to reiterate once again the significance that my Government continues to attach to the issue of establishing PfP liaison offices in Partner capitals, in particular in Baky and we still await for the official reaction to our proposal from NATO. We are pleased to note the growing support to this idea both in the IS and among Allied Nations and we believe that in the course of the forthcoming discussions on this issue among Allies the multiple objective advantages of this endeavour will outweigh remaining scepticism.

And last but not least, the issue of regional security. Being an active participant and supporter of various regional and multilateral cooperation structures and organizations, enjoying excellent relations with almost all of its neighbors, Azerbaijan nevertheless regrets that the fully-fledged cooperation involving all three countries in the South Caucasus has not been feasible. Outstanding security issues in the region, first and foremost the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and its well-known consequences stand in the way of any cooperation between our two countries.

It should be clear for everyone that in order for this situation to change, international law and order should be restored in the region, occupied territories of Azerbaijan should be evacuated and refugees and displaced population of Azerbaijan should be returned to their homes.

Regrettably, due to unconstructive stance of Armenia there has been no progress in the peace process. Officially rejecting internationally recognized borders between two countries and violating territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan Armenia makes impossible both any compromise on the conflict and any cooperation.

In conclusion, I would like to support the thought expressed in the intervention of my Georgian colleague that vigorous steps are needed to actively deal with those so-called "gray zones" in the South Caucasus where illegal separatist regimes provide safe haven for terrorist and various criminal activities. Therefore, we believe that the international community, including NATO, has not by far employed its important potential to address this key security issue of our region.

Thank you.