Azerbaijan to further co-op with NATO

President Aliyev said the Nato exercises in Azerbaijan were of great importance and the country would further cooperate with Nato, as he was receiving a delegation led by the commander of the Nato united forces in South Eastern Europe, Army General Oktar Ataman Wednesday.

The multinational peacemaking command staff exercises, "Cooperative Determination-2001", held as part of the Nato Partnership for Peace program started in Baku on November 5.

373 troops from 9 Nato member states and 9 partner countries, as well as representatives of 4 headquarters, the UN and the IFRC & RC societies, are taking part in the training.

Over 100 militaries are involved in the exercises, including 36 directly. Also partaking is a medical team of 10 doctors and 7 nurses.

Another purpose of the training is for its participants to accumulate experience for upcoming undertakings for the sake of peace and better understanding. A brigade staff comprising multinational officers was also set up, General Ataman said.

The General said similar exercises would be underway in neighboring Georgia and the Ukraine. He voiced satisfaction with the meetings at the military school and lyceum and with the defense minister of the country, saying he had witnessed great progress in the military sphere. "I am much pleased to see the changes underway since 1997, when I last was here", Gen. Ataman.

The exercises are scheduled to complete on November 16.

Meanwhile, the medical part of the “Cooperative Determination-2001” was presented at the Gagai camp, a home to refugees from Shusha and Lachin, at Bilgah settlement of Baku Wednesday.

According to the doctors, medical aid has been rendered and free medicinal preparations handed out since November 10 at the camp, as doctors have provided 136 refugees with medical care. 80% of the medicines were delivered from Turkey, while the rest from the US.

Medical examinations have detected cases of skin, ear, throat and eye diseases, indigestion, and other maladies. All refugee children were supplied with vitamins.

The doctors said they would start examining kids at orphanages Thursday.