Compilled and edited by NATO Contact Point Embassy in Azerbaijan
– 3-rd Edition, March 2010 –
IN THIS EDITION:
 Azerbaijan:
– THE 61 ANIVERSARY OF NATO TO BE CELEBRATED IN AZERBAIJAN
– AZERBAIJAN PARTICIPATED IN THE NATO CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXERCISE - CMX 09
– CLEARING COLD WAR REMNANTS IN AZERBAIJAN
 Region:
– NATO ENCOURAGES GEORGIA TO CONTINUE REFORMS
– CENTRAL ASIA: WHERE POWER, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS COLLIDE
– ASIA, NATO AND ITS PARTNERS: COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS?
 NATO Inside:
– SIX ALLIES AGREED TO COOPERATE ON MOVEMENT CONTROL FOR NATO OPERATIONS
–
NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISED ROMANIA’S SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION IN
AFGHANISTAN AND IN THE DEBATE OF IDEAS ON NATO’S NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT
 AZERBAIJAN
THE 61 ANIVERSARY OF NATO TO BE CELEBRATED IN AZERBAIJAN
On 1 of April 2010, in Baku, will be organized the Conference „North Atlantic Alliance at 61 anniversary:
NATO Present and Future”. This is a public diplomacy’ activity dedicated to celebration of the 61 anniversary
of NATO in Azerbaijan, organized by the Embassy of Romania, in its capacity of NATO Contact Point
Embassy in the Republic of Azerbaijan, in cooperation with the Azerbaijani Institute of Cooperation with
NATO. The Conference will be held at the Conferences Center of HYATT Hotel. Ambassador of of Romania,
former ambassadors Vafa Guluzade and Hikmat Hajizade, political analyst Rasim Musabayov and Surkhan
Latifov, president of European Movement of Azerbaijan, will speak out on topics related to NATO and NATOAzerbaijan relations.
AZERBAIJAN PARTICIPATED IN THE NATO CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXERCISE - CMX 09
Between 4-10 March 2010, NATO conducted its regular Crisis Management Exercise (CMX). Exercise was
delayed from earlier in 2009 due to the Strasbourg-Kehl Summit. The exercise was designed to practice
Alliance crisis management procedures at the strategic political level and involved civilian and military staffs in
national capitals, at NATO Headquarters, and in both Strategic Commands. Unlike a live exercise, however, no
forces were actually deployed for the purpose of these exercises.
The scenario for the exercise was fictitious. The portrayed crisis focused on a security situation beyond the
Euro-Atlantic area that is progressively deteriorating featuring an ongoing NATO-led multi-national crisis
response operation, a humanitarian crisis and terrorism.
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All 28 NATO Allies have been involved in planning CMX 2009. NATO Partner nations have joined the
planning process for CMX 2009 and participated in the exercise, including: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia¹, and Ukraine, as
well as Mediterranean Dialogue partner Israel. Staffs from the United Nations and the International Committee
of the Red Cross also participated in the exercise.
Sponsored by NATO’s Secretary General, CMX 2009 was jointly run by the International Staff, the
International Military Staff and the two NATO Strategic Commands, Allied Command Operations and Allied
Command Transformation. This was NATO’s 16th CMX since the end of the Cold War. For further
information, please contact the NATO Press and Media Service in Brussels. Tel.+322-7075041; Fax: +3227075057.
¹ Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.
Date: 2 Mar. 2010
Source: According to NATO Press Release (2010)025
CLEARING COLD WAR REMNANTS IN AZERBAIJAN
NATO helps make former military base safe for civilians
Grazing sheep near Saloglu, in the north-eastern corner of Azerbaijan, used to be a
dangerous task. In an area of more than five square kilometres, hundreds of
thousands of pieces of explosive material lay hidden from view at various depths
below the rolling, shrub-covered land. Now thanks to a NATO Trust Fund project,
a large part of the area has been cleared, and one day soon, the entire former military
base will be safe for the local population.
A dangerous task
Saloglu, with its 138 storehouses, was one of around 35 heavily armed military
depots in Azerbaijan during Soviet times, all of which were blown up when the
Soviet Army withdrew in 1991. The explosion at Saloglu contaminated the area with
dangerous debris known in military terms as unexploded ordinance (UXO). Before
NATO became involved in 2003, UXO-related accidents at Saloglu injured hundreds
of civilians, killing at least 32 people, 11 of whom were children.
“People from neighbouring villages tried to remove scrap metal, mostly copper,” says Dr Bulent Tudes,
NAMSA General Services Program Manager at the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA). “Our
project has stopped all such unfortunate events and saved many lives in the region.”
Estimating the size of the clearance job was difficult because much of the UXO was hidden beneath the top soil,
covered with low shrubs. The concentration of UXO was highest near where the barrack’s buildings once stood.
Some 560 hectares were contaminated, says Dr Tudes – on the surface and up to four or five metres
underground.
“The job proved even more delicate given the large amount of scrap metal littering the area,” says Planning and
Development Manager Nigar Azimova from the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA).
ANAMA, co-founded by the Government of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Development Programme, is
contracted through the Trust Fund project to carry out the clearance process.
The solution
After being approached by the Azerbaijani authorities, NAMSA presented a
proposal for clearing Saloglu’s UXO to Turkey, the project’s lead nation, in 2003.
The plan included the destruction of more than 2000 tonnes of UXO that were
stockpiled at the nearby village of Poylu and city of Agstafa. Started in November
2005, the project is expected to finish in early 2011, at which time the land will be
given over for public use. Humanitarian and other considerations, along with the
historic, brotherly and cultural ties with Azerbaijan, have been the main drivers behind Turkey's decision to lead
the Saloğlu Project.
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According to the Turkish Delegation to NATO, the right action, coupled with sustainable policies, can help
transform once dangerous and idle zones into productive areas for agriculture and animal husbandry. The
project can thereby contribute not only to the security of the country, but also to its economy.
Clearing UXO contaminated areas requires searching and identifying UXO, assessing the hazard, and then
either destroying it in place by detonation or transporting it to a demolition area to conduct a larger-scale
detonation. Some of the resulting scrap metal is then transported to a smelter for recycling.
So far, the project has cleared 565 hectares of top-surface and 122 hectares of subsurface land. More than 550
000 pieces of UXO have been rendered safe.
Taking on new projects
Projects such as the one in Saloglu are instrumental in increasing local capacity and
ownership. In June, the demining agency began a new project in Guzdek, not far from
Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital. The former military ammunition depots at Guzdek supplied
ammunition to four Soviet commands, and like Saloglu, it was blown up when the army
left. The resulting UXO has so far caused 10 accidents, killing two people.
The experience ANAMA has gained at Saloglu should prove invaluable. “It led us to develop new procedures
for subsurface UXO clearance and bulk demolitions,” says Nigar Azimova, “and it should help ensure our
success in taking on any other UXO tasks in Azerbaijan.”
Background: Azerbaijan - NATO relations
Azerbaijan began formal relations with NATO in 1992, when it joined the newly
created North Atlantic Cooperation Council, now called the Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council. In 1994, it joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP), a
programme aimed at increasing security and defence cooperation between NATO
and individual Partner countries. In 2008, the Melange Project was successfully
concluded in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) lays out the programme of
cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO. Azerbaijan and NATO agreed implementing the second IPAP
document during 2008-2010 years.
The Trust Fund project to clear UXO in Saloglu was made possible with the support and funding of Turkey, the
project’s lead nation, and the financial contributions of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States, Australia, Japan and the
United Nations Development Programme.
NATO Trust Fund projects enable Allied and Partner countries to work together in addressing dangerous
legacies the Cold War left behind, such as UXOs, deteriorating rocket fuel, and aging arms and ammunition
stockpiles.
Date: 8 Mar. 2010
Source: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_62090.htm
 REGION
NATO ENCOURAGES GEORGIA TO CONTINUE REFORMS
The President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, visited NATO Headquarters and met
the Secretary General on 25 March. During the meeting, Secretary General
Rasmussen stressed that NATO continues to support Georgia in its Euro-Atlantic
aspirations, and Georgia's territorial integrity.
“We have the right tools to prepare Georgia for membership, including the NATOGeorgia Commission and the Annual National Programme. It is important that
Georgia continue to make good use of these tools”, the Secretary General said.
The Secretary General also thanked Georgia for the valuable contributions to NATO’s ISAF mission in
Afghanistan. Finally, he said that NATO’s support for Georgia remains based on the country’s democratic and
reform credentials and encouraged Georgia to continue with the process of democratic reform.
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Date: 25 Mar. 2010
Source: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-7A49A6E6-71F09A30/natolive/news_62385.htm?
CENTRAL ASIA: WHERE POWER, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS COLLIDE
Despite larger or more volatile Asian countries often dominating headlines, there is now
an growing interest in Central Asian countries' increasingly important resources, location
and allegiances. Regional expert, Dr Tamara Makarenko, shares her opinions on how this
interest has played out.
In an increasingly energy hungry world, Central Asia's resources are attracting growing
interest. Having been involved with Central Asia since 1998 on both an academic and
professional level, I have concluded that the region provides exhaustive case studies of
how relations between international interests, the legitimate economy, criminality and political violence collide
and/or converge. More at: http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2009/Asia/central_asian_geopolitics/EN/index.htm
ASIA, NATO AND ITS PARTNERS: COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS?
Many of NATO's new partners come from in or around Asia. How does each side see
each other - and what's the way to ensure both benefit from working together? NATO’s
relationships with the countries outside the Euro-Atlantic region have developed rapidly
in the last few years. Cooperation in Afghanistan has driven the development. Countries
like Australia, New Zealand and Singapore are now troop contributors to the ISAF
(International Security Assistance Force) in Afghanistan. Others, like Japan and South Korea, are making direct
and indirect contribution to the Alliance’s effort there. These countries are now called “other partners across the
globe.”
While countries like Australia and Japan are often seen as objects of the Alliance’s partnership policy, it is
NATO who is the partner from those countries’ perspective. This article will examine how NATO is perceived
as a partner by the Alliance’s new “partners across the globe.” Why have those countries strengthened relations
with NATO? What kind of partner is NATO in the eyes of those countries? And what do they expect from
NATO? It is Japan’s intention to use NATO as an additional venue to raise international, particularly European,
awareness of the Asian security situation. More at: http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2009/Asia/nato_partner_asia/EN/index.htm

NATO Inside
SIX ALLIES AGREED TO COOPERATE ON MOVEMENT CONTROL FOR NATO OPERATIONS
NATO members Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia will sign
a Memorandum of Understanding in the margins of the Senior NATO Logisticians'
Conference on 23 March 2010, committing their national support to the Movement
Control Multinational Integrated Logistic Unit (Mov Con MILU).
This unit will coordinate and control the various transport elements used in the
movement of designated force elements during the deployment, sustainment, and
redeployment stages of a NATO-led operation.
Canada took the initiative in 2007 to form this unit in order to overcome an Alliance capability shortfall. The
Mov Con MILU has a Commanding Officer, currently provided by Canada as the lead participant, and consists
of an operations centre and a number of movement detachments. The Unit will deploy as ordered to operational
theatres where it will be largely self-sufficient and capable of operating at multimodal ports of
debarkation/embarkation simultaneously, 24 hours a day over an extended period.
Following two training events in 2008, MILU personnel attended an exercise in Canada in March 2009, during
which they reviewed and revised their standard operating procedures. Personnel also received movements
training at the Norwegian Movements School. Further training will take place during Exercise MILU MUSTER
in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in April 2010, as the next stage towards the declaration of a Full
Operational Capability in 2010.
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The Mov Con MILU will provide an important capability in support of NATO operations. Membership remains
open to other NATO and Partner states who would like to join this multinational collaborative logistic effort.
Date: 23 Mar. 2010
Source: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_62284.htm?
NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISED ROMANIA’S SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION IN
AFGHANISTAN AND IN THE DEBATE OF IDEAS ON NATO’S NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT
On March 22, Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi had a meeting with NATO
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The talks focused on issues of priority
interest in the run-up to the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Tallinn (Estonia),
due on April 22-23, and the NATO Summit in Lisbon, such as: NATO operations in
Afghanistan and Kosovo, the developments in the Balkans and in the Alliance’s
Eastern neighborhood, NATO New Strategic Concept, missile defense.
The head of Romanian diplomacy reiterated Romania’s substantial and long-term commitment within the
NATO operation in Afghanistan. The Romanian contribution to ISAF, in the southern zone of Afghanistan, is
twice larger than it was at the time of the NATO Summit in Bucharest (April 2008) and by the end of this year
will rise to 1,800 troops. Romania’s commitment to KFOR was also confirmed, for the purpose for maintaining
a safe and stable climate in Kosovo.
The Romanian Foreign Minister presented the Secretary-General on Romania’s priorities regarding NATO’s
New Strategic Concept, pointing out the special importance Romania attaches to a balance between collective
defense and operations outside the allied territory, the development of the partnerships policy and the continued
process of NATO transformation, so the Alliance can efficiently react to the new types of threats, such as cyber
attacks, energy insecurity, ballistic missile attacks. The decision on bilateral cooperation with the USA in the
area of missile defense is Romania’s contribution to the development of a NATO missile defense system, on the
basis of the principles of indivisibility of Alliance security and allied solidarity, proclaimed at the Bucharest
Summit and reaffirmed at the Summit in Strasbourg-Kehl.
Minister Teodor Baconschi also emphasized the importance Romania attaches to NATO’s open-door policy
with regard to both the Balkans and Georgia and Ukraine, and to the diversification of NATO’s partnership
relations with the countries in the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region. The Romanian Minister had an
exchange of views on developments in the Western Balkans, reiterating Romania’s strong support for the
invitation extended to Bosnia-Herzegovina to join the Membership Action Plan as soon as possible. He also
pointed out the important role of a constructive and substantial relationship between NATO and Serbia, to the
benefit of regional and European security and stability.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen greatly praised Romania’s significant contribution in
Afghanistan and in the debate of ideas on NATO’s New Strategic Concept. He appreciated Romania’s specific
expertise with regard to NATO’s open-door policy and partnerships. He expressed his interest to see a more
substantial dialogue on those issues with the Romanian authorities during the official visit he is going to pay to
Romania soon.
Date: 3 Mar. 2010
Source: http://www.mae.ro/index.php?unde=doc&id=15178&idlnk=&cat=4
The Newsletter was compiled from the news posted on NATO official webpage and edited by NATO Contact Point Embassy from
Azerbaijan. The Embassy of Romania is fulfilling the mandate of NATO CPE in Azerbaijan for 2009-2010 years.
Contact address: Embassy of Romania, 125A, Akad Hasan Aliyev Av. Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, Tel: +99412/4650926,
E-mail: rom_amb_baku@azdata.net
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