ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
November 5, 2004 Friday 11:22 AM Eastern Time

NATO not to compete with other countries in Caucasus -Scheffer

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

The visit of NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to the
Trans-Caucasian region is not aimed at engaging of the organisation in
competition with other organisations and countries there.

Scheffer made this statement in the Armenian capital after talks with
the country’s leadership on Friday.

The North Atlantic Alliance head said the Armenia-NATO relations are
developing very well. According to Scheffer, Armenia has made a
principled decision to start developing an individual plan of
partnership with NATO.

It is a very considerable step in the development of the Alliance’s
relations with Armenia, in the view of the NATO secretary general.

The NATO leader stated that his visit to the region is caused by the
decision the heads of state and government of the Alliance made in
Istanbul to give more attention to Central Asian and Caucasian
countries.

According to Scheffer, NATO has no plans and ambitions concerning the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, as its solution is within
the competence of the OSCE Minsk Group.