NATO, USA to develop military aid programme in Azerbaijan soon – daily
Ekspress, Baku
2 Sep 04
“The USA and NATO intend to launch an unprecedented military aid
programme in the former Transcaucasus republics in the near future,”
a general of NATO’s European command and the director of the Force
Planning Section [in the Defence Policy and Planning Department], Frank
Boland, told Ekspress yesterday [1 September], commenting on results of
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s visit to the region last month.
“We are thinking about extending our aid to Azerbaijan within the
framework of the newly-drawn up programme. Discussions were held during
Rumsfeld’s meetings with Azerbaijani officials,” the general said.
Boland said that the US Congress had envisaged specific budget
loans for the development of military forces in the South Caucasus
countries in the current year. “This figure is higher in Azerbaijan
than in other countries,” Boland said. As for specific regions where
the new programme will be applied, the NATO general said that Baku
offered the Pentagon mainly two areas – the Caspian basin and [its]
borders. [Passage omitted.]
According to some reports, “the new aid initiative” by the USA and NATO
exceeds the limits of the Caucasus. Boland thinks that the initiative
is to help beef up onshore, offshore and air security of Azerbaijan
and Kazakhstan in the Caspian region.
Touching upon the regional conflicts, Boland said that NATO “is seeking
new ways” to resolve the Karabakh conflict. He thinks that NATO is
very much familiar with realities of the Karabakh conflict and “we will
increase our positive attempts to achieve a solution to the conflict”.
He said that cooperation between NATO and Baku in the fight against
terrorism and in the sphere of security was an important factor. “The
main priority for us is that peace and stability assume a lasting
character in the region, ” he said.
“Numerous projects” between Azerbaijan and NATO are now nearing
completion. “These projects mainly serve the development of security
in the region. The interests of NATO and Azerbaijan in the region
coincide. We will develop more successful projects together in the
future. I am convinced that these projects will create a need for
deepening our cooperation in other fields as well,” Boland said.
As for the Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises, the NATO general
said that preparations for the high-profile military event “were
being successfully completed”.
“We hope that Azerbaijani will entirely fulfil the commitments it
has undertaken,” Boland said.