Azerbaijani leader, NATO secretary-general meet in Brussels

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Azertag reported on December 14. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed President Ilham Aliyev at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. They then posed for official photos.
During the meeting, the NATO Secretary General said that Azerbaijan is a valuable partner of the Alliance and praised the service of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the Resolute Support operation in Afghanistan. He noted that Azerbaijani peacekeepers were the last servicemen to leave Afghanistan, having contributed to the evacuation of more than 120,000 people through the Afghan airport. Jens Stoltenberg thanked President Ilham Aliyev for this.
The head of state noted that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of NATO, and this is already his seventh visit to the Alliance`s headquarters. He said that Azerbaijani servicemen served in Afghanistan from 2002 to the end of August 2021. During the conversation, the sides exchanged views on regional issues during the post-conflict period and said that Azerbaijan was ready to negotiate a peace agreement with Armenia. Security issues in the region were discussed as well.
President Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan has close ties of friendship and strategic partnership with NATO member states, as well as strategic alliance relations with brotherly Turkey, one of the leading member states of the Alliance. The parties also stressed the importance of Azerbaijan’s partnership with NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme since 1994. In this context, it was noted that Azerbaijan actively participates in NATO’s Individual Partnership Action Plan and other programs, and operational military coordination between the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and NATO troops is developing. At the same time, the sides exchanged views on Azerbaijan’s participation in NATO exercises and exercises between Turkey and Azerbaijan on a bilateral basis. The important role of Azerbaijan in Europe’s energy security was also noted during the meeting. The contribution of Azerbaijan as a regional transport and logistical center in the implementation of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission was also praised.