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PURSUING NATO INTEGRATION
by Khazri Bakinsky and Mina Muradova
>From EurasiaNet.
Transitions Online, Czech Republic
March 20 2007
Azeri officials affirm their commitment to the alliance, although a
professional, civilian-administered military is still a long way off.
Azerbaijan is pressing ahead with plans to overhaul the country's armed
forces in order to bring them up to North Atlantic Treaty Organization
standards. The pace of reforms will be gradual, according to senior
government officials, who are quick to point out that Azerbaijan
remains locked in an unresolved conflict with Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
The deputy speaker of the Azeri parliament, Ziafarat Asgarov, indicated
that the legislature would adopt a new strategic doctrine by mid-2007,
the Ayna newspaper reported. A draft of the doctrine is on the agenda
for parliament's spring session, he added. In the meantime, Baku has
agreed to increase the number of Azeri troops serving with NATO in
Afghanistan, according to Robert Simmons, the special representative
of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central
Asia. As of 2005, Azerbaijan had 22 troops in Afghanistan, according
to NATO figures.
President Ilham Aliev has named NATO integration as a top foreign
policy priority for Azerbaijan. The country's participation in
the alliance's Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), a set
of requirements that must be met by alliance candidate-members, is
scheduled to end in 2007. Azeri officials, who have already started
work on plans for the next two-year slot of Azerbaijan's IPAP, have
indicated that they want to continue with the program.
A second IPAP, running from 2007 to 2009, is expected to be signed
with Azerbaijan soon, said Simmons, who held consultations in Baku on
15 March with Defense Minister Safar Abiev. Azerbaijan began its IPAP
program in 2005. An evaluation of the program's initial two years was
made in February. Simmons expressed satisfaction with Azerbaijan's
military reform process. Azerbaijan is a reliable NATO partner and
its cooperation with the alliance is developing successfully, the
APA news agency quoted Simmons as saying.
Turkey, a NATO member with strong cultural ties to Azerbaijan, is
ready to act as an expediter of Baku's reform process. A high-level
military commission is expected to be set up to coordinate bilateral
military cooperation, the Anatolia news agency reported on 1 March.
Particular emphasis will be put on training, an area that General Ergin
Saygun, deputy chief of the Turkish general staff, has described as the
most important part of the cooperation between the two states. Turkey
also plans to help Azerbaijan establish an army company that meets
NATO standards, the general said during a trip to Azerbaijan in
late February.
Several Turkish generals are planning to travel to Azerbaijan in
late April on an inspection tour, after which they will make initial
recommendations on Azeri structural reforms, the News of Azerbaijan
news agency quoted Selami Chinbat, the Turkish embassy's military
attache in Baku, as saying.
An independent military expert, Ismet Abbasova, expressed hope that
the Aliev administration's desire to develop closer ties with NATO
could stimulate broad reforms in Azerbaijan. "I hope there will be
development in the education system because the lack of skilled
military staff indicates that the Azeri army is not up to modern
standards," she said.
If all goes according to the government's plan, the country's armed
forces would meet NATO standards by 2015. The changeover, however,
will not come easily, cautioned Zahid Oruj, a pro-administration member
of parliament who holds an influential position on the legislature's
Defense and Security Committee. "[T]aking into account that military
reforms are more complicated than economic and political [reforms], and
many officers have a Soviet education, it will take time," he noted.
The "frozen conflict" with Armenia over the disputed breakaway
region of Nagorno-Karabakh could also hamper plans to create a purely
professional army, commented Lieutenant General Vahid Aliev, a military
aide to President Aliev. "Since Azerbaijan is at war right now, it
would not be right to transform the entire army into a professional
one," General Aliev told the APA news agency in late 2006.
Oruj said the government is currently "seriously" working on plans
to promote civilian leadership of the Defense Ministry. At the same
time, he downplayed media speculation that a civilian would be named
as defense minister any time soon. "We did not undertake a commitment
on this because the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not ended
yet," he said. A Defense Ministry spokesperson said that he has no
information about which ministry posts might be assigned to civilians.
Despite probable delays in establishing a professional,
civilian-administered military, Oruj affirms that Baku's commitment to
NATO stands firm. "We do all this work because our national interests
demand it, and it is our own choice to transition to NATO standards."
Other top government officials are more cautious. During a February
interview with the German television channel Deutsche Welle, President
Aliev hinted that Azerbaijan's eventual membership in NATO should not
be considered a foregone conclusion. "What will be the result of this
partnership, time alone will show," the Azeri president said.
Mina Muradova and Khazri Bakinsky are freelance reporters in Baku.
This is a partner post from EurasiaNet.
by Khazri Bakinsky and Mina Muradova
>From EurasiaNet.
Transitions Online, Czech Republic
March 20 2007
Azeri officials affirm their commitment to the alliance, although a
professional, civilian-administered military is still a long way off.
Azerbaijan is pressing ahead with plans to overhaul the country's armed
forces in order to bring them up to North Atlantic Treaty Organization
standards. The pace of reforms will be gradual, according to senior
government officials, who are quick to point out that Azerbaijan
remains locked in an unresolved conflict with Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
The deputy speaker of the Azeri parliament, Ziafarat Asgarov, indicated
that the legislature would adopt a new strategic doctrine by mid-2007,
the Ayna newspaper reported. A draft of the doctrine is on the agenda
for parliament's spring session, he added. In the meantime, Baku has
agreed to increase the number of Azeri troops serving with NATO in
Afghanistan, according to Robert Simmons, the special representative
of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central
Asia. As of 2005, Azerbaijan had 22 troops in Afghanistan, according
to NATO figures.
President Ilham Aliev has named NATO integration as a top foreign
policy priority for Azerbaijan. The country's participation in
the alliance's Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), a set
of requirements that must be met by alliance candidate-members, is
scheduled to end in 2007. Azeri officials, who have already started
work on plans for the next two-year slot of Azerbaijan's IPAP, have
indicated that they want to continue with the program.
A second IPAP, running from 2007 to 2009, is expected to be signed
with Azerbaijan soon, said Simmons, who held consultations in Baku on
15 March with Defense Minister Safar Abiev. Azerbaijan began its IPAP
program in 2005. An evaluation of the program's initial two years was
made in February. Simmons expressed satisfaction with Azerbaijan's
military reform process. Azerbaijan is a reliable NATO partner and
its cooperation with the alliance is developing successfully, the
APA news agency quoted Simmons as saying.
Turkey, a NATO member with strong cultural ties to Azerbaijan, is
ready to act as an expediter of Baku's reform process. A high-level
military commission is expected to be set up to coordinate bilateral
military cooperation, the Anatolia news agency reported on 1 March.
Particular emphasis will be put on training, an area that General Ergin
Saygun, deputy chief of the Turkish general staff, has described as the
most important part of the cooperation between the two states. Turkey
also plans to help Azerbaijan establish an army company that meets
NATO standards, the general said during a trip to Azerbaijan in
late February.
Several Turkish generals are planning to travel to Azerbaijan in
late April on an inspection tour, after which they will make initial
recommendations on Azeri structural reforms, the News of Azerbaijan
news agency quoted Selami Chinbat, the Turkish embassy's military
attache in Baku, as saying.
An independent military expert, Ismet Abbasova, expressed hope that
the Aliev administration's desire to develop closer ties with NATO
could stimulate broad reforms in Azerbaijan. "I hope there will be
development in the education system because the lack of skilled
military staff indicates that the Azeri army is not up to modern
standards," she said.
If all goes according to the government's plan, the country's armed
forces would meet NATO standards by 2015. The changeover, however,
will not come easily, cautioned Zahid Oruj, a pro-administration member
of parliament who holds an influential position on the legislature's
Defense and Security Committee. "[T]aking into account that military
reforms are more complicated than economic and political [reforms], and
many officers have a Soviet education, it will take time," he noted.
The "frozen conflict" with Armenia over the disputed breakaway
region of Nagorno-Karabakh could also hamper plans to create a purely
professional army, commented Lieutenant General Vahid Aliev, a military
aide to President Aliev. "Since Azerbaijan is at war right now, it
would not be right to transform the entire army into a professional
one," General Aliev told the APA news agency in late 2006.
Oruj said the government is currently "seriously" working on plans
to promote civilian leadership of the Defense Ministry. At the same
time, he downplayed media speculation that a civilian would be named
as defense minister any time soon. "We did not undertake a commitment
on this because the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not ended
yet," he said. A Defense Ministry spokesperson said that he has no
information about which ministry posts might be assigned to civilians.
Despite probable delays in establishing a professional,
civilian-administered military, Oruj affirms that Baku's commitment to
NATO stands firm. "We do all this work because our national interests
demand it, and it is our own choice to transition to NATO standards."
Other top government officials are more cautious. During a February
interview with the German television channel Deutsche Welle, President
Aliev hinted that Azerbaijan's eventual membership in NATO should not
be considered a foregone conclusion. "What will be the result of this
partnership, time alone will show," the Azeri president said.
Mina Muradova and Khazri Bakinsky are freelance reporters in Baku.
This is a partner post from EurasiaNet.