Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.10 / Trend S.Agayeva /
Prospects for developing relations with NATO were discussed at a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, NATO Special Representative for the South Caucasus James Appathurai told journalists.
"Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed his country's commitment to continue and develop relations with NATO. From our side we are ready to cooperate further with Azerbaijan," Mr Appathurai said.
He thanked Azerbaijan for its peacekeeping efforts in Afghanistan and expressed confidence that the country will continue to participate in NATO peacekeeping operations.
"We also discussed issues of preparation for the next NATO summit in Chicago with the Azerbaijani President. I expect that he and the NATO Secretary General will thoroughly discuss further cooperation between the Alliance and Azerbaijan at this summit," Mr Appathurai stressed. He said President Ilham Aliyev has already been invited to the summit.
"We continue to cooperate with Azerbaijan as part of the Individual Partnership Programme," Mr Appathurai went on.
He also highly appreciated Azerbaijan's role in the transit of goods to Afghanistan, stressing that 30 per cent of the total cargo passes through the country.
"We hope that our cooperation in this direction will continue which was also confirmed by President Ilham Aliyev, who assured us that Azerbaijan, as before, remains a reliable NATO partner in the transit of goods," he said.
