NATO HQ 8 Nov. 2006	Press briefing by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan News President of Azerbaijan addresses NATO Council Opinion Press briefing MP3/3083kb De Hoop Scheffer:  Good morning. It is a great pleasure for me and for the Ambassadors in the North Atlantic Council to welcome once again the President of Azerbaijan, Aliyev and I think that is important for a number of reasons. First of all because the NATO Allies highly value the partnership with Azerbaijan in its different aspects. You know there is the so-called Individual Partnership Action Plan. We are working together on issues like defence reform, on issues like institutional reform and I can tell you that we had a wide-ranging discussion on these issues, including the President's remarks on having a strong economy, but also working on a strong state including democratic reform, freedom of the media et cetera. So I think it was very rich. There's a second reason why I think it was very important that President Aliyev was coming here to NATO this morning and that is because of the very important position and role of Azerbaijan in the region, a region which is volatile, a region which has risks for instability. But also coming here as a President of a nation which already is and will become an even more important exporter of oil and gas and that is of course not only a question of economics, but it is also a question of strategy and geo-politics. And I can tell you that the President made a very interesting introduction and we had a very interesting discussion on these issues as well. So not to be too long, Mr. President your visit is really highly appreciated. Your openness and transparency is appreciated. As I said we discussed a wide-range of subjects and I'm quite sure that President Aliyev's visit will lead to the further intensification of the Azeri-NATO relationship. We're working on the Individual Partnership Action Plan. Azerbaijan is working hard. Mr. President it is a pleasure to see you here once again. Aliyev: Thank you very much. De Hoop Scheffer:  Excuse me. Let me not forget... let me not forget, because that would be an omission on my side, the great importance of Azerbaijan participating in important operations for NATO and for its partners in Afghanistan and Kosovo. I should not forget that because that makes Azerbaijan also an exporter of security and that is a very important thing in the NATO framework and in the many theatres where NATO is active. Excuse Mr. President I should not have forgotten that. Aliyev: Thank you very much Mr. Secretary General. Thank you for hospitality. Today was a very important day in the future development of NATO-Azerbaijan relationship. This relationship has big history. For more than 10 years we are working jointly on the projects of closer co-operation starting from the Partnership for Peace Program. Today we are in the Individual Partnership Action Plan which actually embraces all the areas of our political system. Reforms in defence area, reforms in economic area, in political system - they are all interconnected. Taking into account the importance of the Caspian oil and gas reserves and the importance for energy security and in general for security in the region. Of course this all brings new dimensions to our relations. These relations have good history, very good record, and today probably it's the opening of a new stage of this relationship. We had very sophisticated and profound discussions with the Secretary General today on the issues of bilateral relations, regional security and regional development. At the same time, at the North Atlantic Council, we had a long conversation and very open and sincere discussions about our ideas, our plans. We reviewed the previous achievements and laid out a very solid foundation for our future co-operation. Azerbaijan will continue to an play important role in helping to create a safer situation in neighbourhood. We will continue to play an important role and continue to contribute to the peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan. And we think it's very important for our young country, but already a country with a growing potential to be a true and reliable partner for NATO. Economic reforms, political reforms, democratization of society, social reforms and defence reforms - they are all interconnected. They will all allow us to create a strong country with a strong economy, a strong political system and with strong relations with our friends and allies. Questions and answers Q: Paul Ames from the Associated Press. Secretary General I wonder if you could tell us to what extent energy security featured in your discussions today, especially in the light of the meeting which I understood took place yesterday between Commissioner Pielbags and members of the North Atlantic Council. De Hoop Scheffer:  It played an important role, but the first reason that it does of course is, we all know the background of President Aliyev who is an expert, given previous incarnations, on energy security given the fact that Azerbaijan, as I said, is a very important player and is becoming an even more important player in the whole discussion of oil and gas supply because as you know that will go up considerably as the President explained to us. And you know my opinion that although NATO is not a lead organization as far as energy is concerned, discussions on energy security are very relevant for NATO and they are being discussed in the NATO framework, as indeed they were discussed on a very informal basis with Commissioner Pielbags yesterday. If you look at the region, if you look at Azerbaijan, but if you also look at the region, it is crystal clear that energy plays a very important role. Energy security, energy supply, the construction of pipelines. I say again this is not a prime responsibility for NATO; NATO doesn't and will not take the lead. But the geo-strategic aspects and the political aspects of the discussion on energy security are important for NATO and we have used the opportunity and the investors have used the opportunity to discuss this with President Aliyev very much as well. Q: Farid (inaudible) from Space TV Azerbaijan. My question is to Mr. Scheffer. What concrete contribution can give NATO in solving conflicts in South-Caucasian Region? Thank you. De Hoop Scheffer:  Could you... excuse me, could you come in once again because I was - Q: What concrete contribution can give NATO in solving conflicts in South Caucasian Region? Thank you. De Hoop Scheffer:  NATO is not a direct actor and a direct player, but NATO has good relationships in the region. We have a very good relationship with Azerbaijan as hopefully President Aliyev and I have proven today. Also Armenia is a partner of NATO. With Georgia we have recently entered into the phase of Intensified Dialogue. It is clear that the NATO baseline and the bottom line is respect for the territorial integrity of all the nations and all the states in the region, be it Azerbaijan, be it Georgia, be it the other nations in the region. And in the framework of that dialogue you'll have me heard I think many times making pleas for a peaceful solution of all those conflicts, making pleas for calm and moderation. And of course we discussed Nagorno Karabakh extensively with President Aliyev and he gave the Ambassadors his view on this so-called frozen conflict of which we all hope that with moderation and on the base of negotiations we can find a solution. So NATO... do not see NATO as a direct actor in the region because NATO doesn't play a role in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Minsk group is leading in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict; not NATO, but we use of course our partnership, we use of course of relations with the nations in the region which is a volatile region as we all know and because it's a volatile region, we use our partnerships to the full to discuss all these elements. And that is the role NATO plays, but we do that of course in close consultation with our important partners in the region. Thank you!