Turkish military preparing Azerbaijan for NATO

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. Turkish Daily News