From the Editor
Claims of some Azerbaijani officials demanding to deploy NATO�s bases in Azerbaijan had their aftermath. While the officials from Washington reject this �harebrained� idea, some American analysts are optimistic about the Azerbaijani initiative. It is interesting to note that Russia has not shown much concern about it. But the current speculations about possible military alliance of Turkey and Azerbaijan may change the Moscow attitude to the problem.
BAKU, Feb 11 (AFP)
Azerbaijan�s defense minister said Thursday that Ankara is considering a possible military alliance with Baku, and accused Armenia of training hundreds of terrorists to infiltrate Turkey.
Safar Abiyev said that he discussed recently a potential military pact with Turkey, which would offset Russia�s close military ties with Azerbaijan�s arch-rival Armenia.
�I recently visited Turkey,� Abiyev said. �Among other things, we worked on the possibility of creating a military alliance between Baku and Ankara, similiar to Russian-Armenian military agreement.�
Azerbaijan recently invited the United States, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Turkey to establish bases on its territory. So far, no party has accepted the proposal.
Moscow and Yerevan�s military ties have drawn Baku�s increasing fire in recent weeks. Russia has thousands of troops outside Yerevan, and Baku accuses Moscow of sending modern military equipment for use in Armenia.
Azerbaijan says that it fears the Armenians are preparing an attack on them, with support from the Russians.
Moscow said Baku had nothing to fear from Russian troops� presence in the Caucasus and criticized Azerbaijan�s invitation to the western powers. Azerbaijan fought a six-year war with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region inside Azerbaijan which declared independence and tried to unite with Armenia proper.
Abiyev also said that Yerevan was helping train more than 650 Kurdish terrorists in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh to infiltrate and destabilize Turkey.