NATO appoints special envoy to Caucasus, Central Asia
by PAUL AMES; Associated Press Writer

Associated Press Worldstream
September 15, 2004 Wednesday

BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO announced the appointment Wednesday of
a special representative for Central Asia and the Caucasus as part
of the alliance’s efforts to build closer ties with former Soviet
republics in the strategically important region.

Former U.S. State Department official Robert F. Simmons Jr. will hold
the post, with responsibility “for establishing high-level working
contacts with regional leaders,” the alliance said in a statement.

Simmons told reporters that one of NATO’s aims was to help modernize
armed forces in the region and boost their ties to allied militaries
so they can play a more effective role in international crisis
management missions.

Western allies see the region stretching from the Black Sea to the
borders of Afghanistan as vital in the fight against terrorism. They
have used bases in the region to support military operations in
Afghanistan.

Simmons is scheduled to travel to the region in October and November
with NATO’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The eight-former Soviet republics in the region are already part of
NATO’s “Partnership for Peace” outreach program offering political
and military cooperation.

But while some, such as Georgia, have enthusiastically sought closer
links, and even the prospect of NATO membership, others have been
reluctant to build up closer ties.

Simmons declined to comment on Moscow’s threats to strike at terrorist
bases outside its borders following the school massacre in southern
Russia this month, which have raised speculation that Georgia might
be a target.

“We have not discussed that in this house,” Simmons said. He rejected
a suggestion that NATO might consider sending peacekeepers to the
Georgia.

Simmons said NATO would use its contacts with Central Asian and
Caucasus nations to promote human rights and democracy, although he
said prime responsibility in that field lay with other organizations.

Difficulties in the building of ties in the region were underscored
this week when NATO was forced to cancel military exercises
in Azerbaijan at short notice when the country objected to the
participation of officers from neighboring Armenia.

Although both countries are members of Partnership for Peace, relations
between them remain tense a more than decade after the war between
them over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.