AZERI DIPLOMACY PONDERS OVER INTEGRATION INTO NATO
Alakbar Raufoglu
Ekspress
June 18 2008
Azerbaijan
NATO invites, Baku considers
Araz Azimov: `We will not approach NATO if membership in the alliance
does not meet our interests’
"If we see that membership in NATO can be useful for the solution
of Azerbaijan’s potential problems, we will join it," Deputy Foreign
Minister Araz Azimov has told Ekspress.
The deputy minister thinks that NATO membership does not depend only
on Azerbaijan. The stand of NATO and other interested parties should
also be taken into consideration. "Azerbaijan will consider membership
in NATO after all sides are ready for it. In fact, we are considering
it at the moment as well. However, we expect to get dividends from
NATO membership. If we get nothing from the membership, we would not
join it".
Azimov has stressed that Baku would not speculate with NATO and would
pursue own interests.
The deputy minister’s statement has coincided with NATO officials’ call
for Baku to intensify reforms and apply for membership in the Alliance.
A NATO official has said at the organization’s summer school that
opened the day before yesterday that membership in the Alliance depends
on Azerbaijan. He has drawn attention to the fact that cooperation
with NATO implies military and security reforms.
It is not a secret that Azerbaijan attempts to conduct a balanced
policy and hesitates from integration with NATO.
The military alliance waits for Baku’s strategic choice. "Our doors are
open. Countries may come to our doors after they would have completed
certain procedures," said NATO representative Robert Simmons during
his visit to Baku in spring.
Araz Azimov however has pointed out to the necessity of considering
general security concerns in the Caucasus and the Caspian region
while speaking about integration into NATO. What does Baku concern for?
Azerbaijan expects the North Atlantic Alliance to get active in
solution of the Karabakh problem. In fact, NATO also considers
Azerbaijan that is in a conflict as an unstable partner. Yet, NATO
avoids of getting involved in solution of the Karabakh problem and
states that it only "controls" the issue.
It is said that NATO might send international peacekeeping forces
to Karabakh in perspective. However, NATO officials do not speak
concretely and say that "the request should come from the involved
sides".
Along with the above mentioned, NATO expects "more activity" from
Baku. Azimov has said that integration and extension of mutual
relations with Europe and Euro-Atlantic institutions is one of Baku’s
foreign policy priorities and that new action plan [second stage of
IPAP] gives the sides extra opportunities.