Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- A squadron of Turkish f-5 fighters staged a flypast to mark the occasion, a move which earlier prompted Iran...to express concern that the show was a veiled threat to Iran. Azerbaijan's growing cooperation with NATO is a snub to Moscow, which believes the alliance is encroaching on Russia's sphere of influence. Azerbaijan's First NATO-trained Officers Graduate BAKU, Aug 27, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) The first group of NATO-trained army officers graduated on Saturday from Azerbaijan's military training college in what Azeri President Heydar Aliyev called an "historic event." A squadron of Turkish F-5 fighters staged a flypast to mark the occasion, a move which earlier prompted Iran, locked in a boundary dispute with Azerbaijan, to express concern that the show was a veiled threat to Iran. The graduation of the 650 officers took Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic which has long been in the shadow of its northern neighbor Russia, a step closer to its long-term aim of full NATO membership. Azerbaijan is a member of the military alliance's Partnership for Peace scheme, a halfway house on the way to becoming a fully-fledged member. The officers had been trained to NATO-standards by instructors seconded from alliance-member Turkey. Azeri officers have previously trained in Turkish military schools, but never before at home. "Today is an historic event in building Azerbaijan's military and a new chapter has been opened," Aliyev said at a graduation ceremony for the officers near the Azeri capital, Baku. He added: "Today's events are important in strengthening the defense capability of our country. Cooperation with Turkey is the basis of our military successes." The graduation ceremony was attended by Hussein Kivrikoglu, chief of general staff of the Turkish army, who also had talks with the Azeri defense minister, Safar Abbiyev. On Friday evening, a display of formation flying by the Turkish F-5 fighters over Baku's Caspian waterfront drew massive crowds which some estimates put at half a million people. A senior Azeri official told AFP that the visit by the squadron was designed to show Tehran that Azerbaijan had Turkey's backing in the row over the division of the Caspian Sea, though officially any such intention has been denied. Azerbaijan's growing cooperation with NATO is a snub to Moscow, which believes the alliance is encroaching on Russia's sphere of influence. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
