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BAKU: Turkish Military Preparing Azerbaijan For NATO

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  • BAKU: Turkish Military Preparing Azerbaijan For NATO

    TURKISH MILITARY PREPARING AZERBAIJAN FOR NATO

    Today.Az
    03 April 2007 [15:02]

    The Turkish military will continue to give assistance to Azerbaijan's
    military. In order to endorse Azerbaijan's efforts for NATO membership,
    the two countries will establish a joint commission.

    Having been in territorial conflict with its neighbor Armenia over
    Nagorno Karabakh since 1993, Azerbaijan's military is preparing for
    North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership by 2015 with the
    help of its traditional ally and NATO member Turkey. The Turkish Armed
    Forces (TSK) and the Azerbaijan Armed Forces (ASK) have intensified
    their co-operation in the last months with high-level visits and
    another delegation from the Office of the Chief of General Staff will
    pay a visit to Baku in April.

    The Turkish delegation will meet with their counterparts in late
    April, the Turkish Daily News has learned. Azerbaijan is asking
    the Turkish military to give it more assistance on meeting NATO's
    standards for military training, know-how and usage of technology in
    military operations.

    After the visit, the two militaries are expected to establish a joint
    commission to co-ordinate the ASK's preparations for NATO membership.

    With strong cultural ties to Azerbaijan, Turkey will continue to
    hasten the reform process. Turkey is also planning to help Azerbaijan
    establish an army company that meets NATO standards, Gen. Ergin Saygun,
    deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff, announced during his visit
    to Baku in February.

    Baku decided to increase the number of Azerbaijan's troops serving
    with NATO in Afghanistan in March. In 2005, Azerbaijan had 22 troops
    in Afghanistan, according to NATO figures.

    Azerbaijan's participation in NATO's Individual Partnership Action
    Plan (IPAP), a set of requirements that must be met by alliance
    candidate-members, is scheduled to end in 2007. Azerbaijan aims
    to continue the IPAP program for the next two-years. President of
    Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev views NATO integration as a top foreign policy
    priority for Azerbaijan, and a new strategic doctrine is expected to
    be adopted by the Azerbaijan Parliament by mid-2007.
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