Trend News interview with NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert Simmons.
Question: What is your opinion on the activity of Azerbaijan with regards to Individual Partnership Action Plan?

Azerbaijan is an active and very valuable Partner of the Alliance. Azerbajiani troops stand side-by-side with those of NATO as part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and the Azerbaijani contingent in that force was recently increased. Azerbaijan is also engaged in wide-ranging cooperation with NATO and individual NATO countries to undertake a thorough reform of its defense and security sector institutions. This is a long-term effort which is conducted in the framework of the Individual Partnership Action Plan that you refer to, mr. Novruzov. Azerbaijan has been making good progress in many aspects of these reforms, but, of course, there still remains a lot of work to do. We want to continue to assist Azerbaijan in this process and we are working very closely with our Azerbaijani partners from the various ministries and agencies to assist them in the accomplishment of their reform goals.

Question: What is your estimation of the reforms in military forces of Azerbaijan? Do these reforms correspond to the NATO standards? Are these reforms necessary in the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan really?

Answer: The reforms undertaken in the framework of the Individual Partnership Action Plan will help Azerbaijan to create armed forces and security structures that are modern and capable, effectively and transparently managed, as well as democratically controlled and accountable. You are asking, is this a necessary process? Of course it is. And this is not only my opinion, but an opinion shared by the Azerbaijani government itself. President Aliyev has made this quite clear when I last met him during his inauguration.

As for the defense reform effort, it is important to understand that this is a process that requires more than just a restructuring of the armed forces. Achievement of NATO standards is not primarily about changing unit designations, or about how a soldier holds his rifle. It is a deeper, longer-term process that must go hand in hand with democratic institution building, transparent budgeting, and effective public and parliamentary oversight. As I have said before, Azerbaijan has made good progress in some areas, but many important challenges still lie ahead. There is certainly still some way to go towards meeting NATO standards in many areas, but I am confident that together we can continue to make good progress in the months and years ahead.

Question: Various online news sources report that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be resolved soon. Does NATO plan to participate in the process of conflict solution?

Answer: Like others, NATO is interested in seeing this conflict resolved peacefully in the near future. Such a peaceful resolution would benefit both Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also the region as a whole. So we are encouraged by the recent positive developments on this issue. We do not, however, see a role for NATO at this time. We fully support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and we continue to believe that the Minsk Group is the most effective mechanism to bring about a solution to this long-standing conflict.