NATO mission appreciates Individual Partnership Action Plan of Azerbaijan

The NATO mission has appreciated the Azerbaijani Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), Romanian ambassador to Azerbaijan Nikolae Ureke said at the conference on NATO-Azerbaijani partnership in Baku, Trend reports.The plan was observed by the NATO special envoy to the South Caucasus, Robert Simmons. Ureke said that they are currently discussing the 3rd stage of IPAP.

Georgia needs civilian control over army - NATO Secretary General

NATO Secretary General of Anders Fogh Rasmussen pointed out to Georgiaat a meeting in Brussels the need for civilian control over security.Within the framework of today's session, NATO members will discuss thesituation in Georgia, cooperation between NATO and Tbilisi insecurity, including Georgian participation in the military operationsin Afghanistan, RIA Novosti reports.

NATO opens doors for Georgia and expects reform boost

According to a declaration in Brussels by NATO Secretary GeneralAnders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance expects Georgia to activatereforms to give make it a candidate for NATO membership.Rasmussen noted that the Georgian military made a great contributionto operations in Afghanistan. The Georgian Minister of Defense, BachoAkhalaya, has been invited to a meeting of NATO ministers, GeorgiaOnline reports.

Armenian president meeting NATO Secretary General

Serzh Sargsyan, the president of Armenia, will pay a visit to Brussels on May 25th. There he will meet Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Secretary General of NATO, Madiamax reports. After the meeting he will answer journalists' questions.

Co-chairs of discussions in Geneva to visit South Ossetia

The co-chairmen of the discussions in Geneva on security in the Transcaucasia are to visit South Ossetia, Yuga.ru reports.According to the presidential envoy of South Ossetia on post-conflict settlement Boris Chochiyev, the co-chairs from the EU, the OSCE and the UN will arrive for preparatory works on May 13th.

Prospects of Azerbaijani, NATO cooperation discussed in Brussels

The Secretary-General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the head ofAzerbaijani delegation to the alliance Kamil Khasiyev have discussedthe prospects of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO, theAzerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports.The Secretary-General said he highly valued the Azerbaijanicontribution to the restoration of stability in Afghanistan and itsparticipation in peacekeeping operations.

Anti-US protest in Tehran

Anti-US demonstrations have taken place in Iran in front of the Swissembassy, which represents US interests in Iran, RIA Novosti reports,citing the Iranian information agency Fars.At the start of April, US President Barack Obama declared that Iranand North Korea will be excluded from new US obligations on thelimited use of US nuclear arms for breaching non-proliferationagreements. Iran understood the declaration as a nuclear threat andsent an official complaint to the UN.

Russia and Norway urge Iran to respect UN decisions

Russia and Norway urge Iran to restore the trust of the internationalcommunity and respect UN decisions, a joint declaration after RussianPresident Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Norway says, ITAR-TASS reports.The two countries call on Iran work with IAEA to prove without doubtthat its nuclear program is peaceful.The sides also support the independence, sovereignty and territorialunity of Iran, as well the right of Iranians to determine theirnational policies.

Ukraine's decision will not affect NATO-Georgian relations

The head of the NATO mission to Georgia, Karl Lemers, considers thatthe decision of Ukrainian president Yanukovich will not affectNATO-Georgian relations. Karl Lemers claimed the abolishing of thecommission, which had been created to move NATO-Ukrainian relations toa new level, was unexpected, however, "all countries make their ownchoices". According to Lemers "the alliance still supports thedecisions of the Bucharest summit", reports Georgia Online.

Yanukovych annuls commission on preparing Ukraine to join NATO

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has annulled the interdepartmental commission on preparing Ukraine to join NATO. This was announced in a Presidential decree of April 2, published today on the presidential website, ITAR-TASS reports.In another decree, Yanukovych annulled the National Center for Euro-Atlantic integration and dismissed Vladimor Gorbulin from his duties as chairman. The new Ukrainian government has repeatedly stated that the issue of joining NATO is not on the agenda.

NATO Secretary General supported the integration of Georgia into the alliance

The first official meeting of the Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Baramidze and NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, was held today in Brussels, the headquarters of the alliance. It was dedicated to the successful completion of the first part of the annual national program for Georgia.