Ilham Aliyev still opposed to seeing NATO in Azerbaijan

“To conduct simultaneous military training in Azerbaijan and Upper Garabagh further aggravates the already precarious situation”, first vice-president of SOCAR MP Ilham Aliyev said Friday.

Asked to explain why his personal opinion on the issue of stationing of NATO troops in Azerbaijan differs from that of the Defense Minister (who has repeatedly supported the idea), I. Aliyev said it was only his own opinion. He reiterated that to his mind stationing of NATO bases in the Azeri soil would not guarantee security to Azerbaijan, because any military bases would pursue their own objectives. It is therefore naive to think that NATO would protect Azerbaijan from Armenia, he said.*