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BAKU: NATO Concerned Over Flaring Regional Conflicts, Its Official S

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  • BAKU: NATO Concerned Over Flaring Regional Conflicts, Its Official S

    NATO CONCERNED OVER FLARING REGIONAL CONFLICTS, ITS OFFICIAL SAYS

    Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
    April 12 2006

    NATO is concerned over the conflicts flaring in the South Caucasus
    region, the special representative of the alliance's Secretary General
    to South Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert Simmons, has said.

    "These disputes are impeding cooperation among countries."

    With regard to NATO's position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
    (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, Simmons said it coincides with that of
    the OSCE, which is brokering settlement to the conflict. He said that
    a given country may station its armed forces in another's territory
    only upon the latter's consent. As an example, he referred to the fact
    Russian troops are stationed in Armenia upon agreement with official
    Yerevan, saying NATO is not interfering with this.

    As for the stationing of NATO peacekeepers in the region, Simmons said
    this is possible after lengthy discussions. On the other hand, this
    would require a consent from both parties to the conflict, he said.

    Simmons did not rule out that the alliance will be involved in some
    large-scale regional energy projects, including measures to safeguard
    the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline.

    "Guarding the pipeline has not been vested in NATO's military forces
    thus far. Therefore, the alliance will for the time being confine to
    conducting training and rendering technical assistance to relevant
    institutions of the countries hosting the pipe [Azerbaijan, Georgia
    and Turkey]," Simmons added.
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