Azerbaijan, NATO discuss partnership

Baku, December 8, AZERTAC Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met with NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller on the sidelines of the 23rd Ministerial Council of the OSCE in Hamburg. They exchanged their views on the Azerbaijan-NATO partnership and prospects of the bilateral cooperation. Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller hailed Azerbaijan’s supporting NATO Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. She also highly appreciated Azerbaijan’s contribution to ensure security in Afghanistan. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov informed that Azerbaijan made substantial donations to the Afghan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund, adding that “we will continue financially support this Fund”. The Minister noted that Azerbaijan remains interested in developing cooperation with NATO. FM Mammadyarov highlighted negotiations to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The FM also mentioned that Azerbaijan assumed the co-chairmanship of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul process for 2017. In this function, Azerbaijan will seek close coordination and consultations with all stake-holders, most notably with NATO, with a view to facilitating the international community`s comprehensive and consistent support for Afghanistan. The sides also discussed the issues of Individual Partnership Action Plan of Azerbaijan with NATO.