FIRST VICE-SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT MEETS NATO DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL

Baku, 16 December,(AzerTAj)First Vice-Speaker of the Azerbaijan Parliament and
chairman of parliament`s standing commission on security and defense Ziyafet Askarov
met Tuesday with NATO delegation headed by alliance`s Deputy Secretary General
Claudio Bisogniero.

Askarov said, Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with NATO in the
process of Euro-Atlantic integration.
Azerbaijan is expanding cooperation with NATO through Partnership for Peace program
and Individual Partnership Action Plan, said Askarov. He noted that his country also
actively participates in the NATO Rose-Roth seminars. He mentioned that two of these
seminars had been held in Baku.
First Vice-Speaker said the first phase of reforms to meet NATO standards has been
successfully completed in the country, adding NATO experts have highly praised
Azerbaijan`s military reforms.
On the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Askarov said Armenia
disregards UN Security Council`s resolutions on unconditional withdrawal of the
armed forces from occupied territories of Azerbaijan and international community
remains indifferent to this fact.
Armenia`s aggressive policy poses threat not only to Azerbaijan and South Caucasus,
but also to the whole Europe, Askarov said.
Claudio Bisogniero said his current visit aims to further develop NATO-Azerbaijan
relations. He said NATO praises Azerbaijan`s achievements and attaches much
importance to relations with Azerbaijan. NATO Deputy Secretary General stressed the
role of parliaments in expansion of cooperation.