NATO DOESN’T OBJECT TO RUSSIAN TROOPERS IN ARMENIA – OFFICIAL

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 11 2006

BAKU, April 11 (Itar-Tass) — NATO does not object to the deployment
of Russian forces in Armenia, special representative Robert Simmons
told a Tuesday press conference in Baku.

He said the alliance does not compete with Russia in the South Caucasus
and does not plan to interfere in regional conflicts. The conflicts
are being settled, and the alliance thinks that the sides are capable
of settlement, he said.

The NATO opinion of the Karabakh conflict is similar to that of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), he said.

The deployment of peacekeeping forces is up to the sides, if Armenia
and Azerbaijan make this decision, he added. If they reach the
agreement and make the request to the alliance, NATO is ready to
discuss the deployment of peacekeepers, Simmons said.

Regional conflicts do not hamper NATO cooperation with South Caucasian
countries, he said, adding that settlement of the conflicts would
make the partnership more efficient.

Simmons described Azerbaijan as a leading regional partner to NATO and
said that both sides are interested in the development of cooperation,
which needs to be updated to modern realities, and related changes
need to be made in the Azerbaijan-NATO individual partnership plan.