BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 4
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Tod Wolters will meet in Baku Feb. 6-7, Azerbaijani political analyst Shabnam Hasanova told Trend.
This is not the first meeting between the two power centers held in Baku, Gerasimov and Wolters already met July 10 last year in Baku, Hasanova added.
The political analyst noted that during the meeting, the parties discussed the state of European and global security, the prevention of possible conflicts on the Russia-NATO line, the issues of combating terrorism.
Two power centers - Russia and NATO - see Azerbaijan as a reliable partner, therefore they choose namely Baku to hold such important meetings, said Hasanova.
“The meetings of the generals in Baku have a number of important reasons. First of all, this is related to the strengthening image of President Ilham Aliyev in the international arena, Azerbaijan’s position as a partner in defending the principles of international law and security mechanisms, and Azerbaijan’s non-alignment with political blocs," said the political analyst adding that the fact that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner, and undoubtedly, the factors of stability and security in the country also play an important role.
Hasanova emphasized that today no one is questioning why Baku is the venue for a meeting.
"The reason is that Azerbaijan has gone through difficult stages to take its rightful place in the system of international relations,” she added. “Baku is hosting not only regional but also worldwide events.”
“By all existing criteria, the capital of Azerbaijan - Baku - has become a favorable, safe platform for dialogue, in particular, for meetings of military leaders of the two power structures of the world and for discussion of existing global problems,” the analyst said. “These meetings have important political significance not only for NATO and Russia, but also for the whole world because the issues which are discussed at them concern the whole humanity."
Hasanova said that Azerbaijan has great experience in providing support to maintain security in the world.
"The country has been cooperating with NATO for many years in combating terrorism and restoring stability in the hotbeds of conflict,” the analyst said. “The Azerbaijani president attended a meeting of the North Atlantic Council of NATO in Brussels on November 23, 2017. The president’s participation in such a high-status event upon the invitation is a clear example that NATO assesses Azerbaijan as a reliable partner."