Azerbaijan, Baku, May 5/ Trend , K. Zarbaliyeva/
If NATO operations in Afghanistan fail, member states will not trust the Alliance any more, Former Turkish Foreign Minister and NATO chief civil officer Hikmet Chetin said.
"Afghanistan is one of the major operations in the NATO history. Alliance will certainly achieve success in Afghanistan. Otherwise, NATO member states can withdraw from the organization," Chetin said at conference "NATO-Azerbaijan: Glance at Future Appreciating Past" dedicated to 15th anniversary of cooperation with the alliance.
NATO peacekeeping forces have operated in Afghanistan since 2001.
NATO-Azerbaijan ties were established in 1992 after Azerbaijan's accession of to the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (renamed into Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council - EAPC in 1997). The cooperation was enhanced following the Azerbaijan's accession to the Partnership for Peace Program in 1994. In addition to supporting the reforms, one of the key goals of NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation is to develop the ability of the country's armed forces to interact with the NATO forces in peacekeeping operations and crisis response. Azerbaijani troops are providing support to NATO peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Chetin said if NATO steps back in front of the global terrorism, it will enable terror to come to Madrid and New York. "This is very important for Alliance itself. It will be difficult for NATO to achieve success without regional conception," he said.
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