NATO-Extension into Caucasus

[ekrem]

What do you think about this process?
Georgia is since 2006 in Intensified Dialogue with NATO.
http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2006/09-september/e0921c.htm
In next years, maybe months, it will be offered Membership Action Plan.

What do you generally think of extending the NATO into Caucasus and how this will effect Russia's role in the region and Russia's relation with NATO?

This is a very complicate issue, as in Gorgia there are 2 russian-inhabitated provinces which are rebellious and have declared independence in the 90s, buit are not recognized by world community.
Russia this year will abandon its soviet-time military bases from Georgia and will move them to Armenia, which is the last country under Russian control on the Caucasus.
The Caucasus also is a bridge for Resource-pipelines to be connected with Central Asia.

So we are especially talking about Georgia and Azerbaycan.
So far only 3 countries help Georgia in military training and financing.

With Azerbaycan only 1 country helps them so far in this process, where in mid-2007 a Turkish General will be appointed till 2011 as Vice-Defence Ministry of Azerbaycan to help transform Azerbaycan to be NATO-compatible.
Also a NATO-Extension of Azerbaycan would be an extension of NATO to Iran's northern boarder.

Georgia

-Getting financial aid from NATO countries, Georgia
does not limit itself to building bases.
It has become the world leader for the growth of
military expenditures, bringing them in 2006 to 17
percent of national budget, or more than 340 million
dollars. Georgia’s military expenditures grew almost
five-fold in just over three years.

TBILISI - France has become the third NATO country
actively assisting Georgia in forces build-up.

This is shown by the agreement on cooperation between
the defence ministries of the two countries for 2007
signed in Tbilisi on Thursday.

Under the agreement, French military instructors will
train Georgian mountain riffle troops at the training
centre in Sachkhere district.

The centre was built with French assistance in 18
months. Georgia gets the biggest assistance in the
military area from France, and also from Turkey.

Inaugurating the new military base in late August,
Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili said, “Another
contemporary base of the defence ministry will be
opened near the city of Gori by May 2007, the base
that will be equipped as befits a country that is to
become a NATO member.”

Getting financial aid from NATO countries, Georgia
does not limit itself to building bases.

It has become the world leader for the growth of
military expenditures, bringing them in 2006 to 17
percent of national budget, or more than 340 million
dollars. Georgia’s military expenditures grew almost
five-fold in just over three years.

Considerable aid comes also from the United States.

US instructors train over 8,000 recruits for task
forces.

The US Congress has allocated some 130 million dollars
in two tranches for this programme.

According to experts, the United States allocated to
Georgia 1.5 billion dollars as aid since 2003.

Turkey provided for Georgia large funds as military
aid. Georgia has been receiving from Turkey 40 million
dollars a year as military aid over the recent years.

This growth of the military budget is apparently not
conducive to the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhazian
and Georgian- South Ossetian conflicts.

This makes Tbilisi officials unrestrained in their
rhetoric.

Georgian defence minister Irakly Okruashvili promised
to reporters to resign unless Georgia re-establishes
its jurisdiction over Tskhinvali by January 1, 2007.

He said he was sure that would be done. “If this does
not happen, I will go,” he said.

http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/a-list/2006-October/062926.html


Azerbaycan

Azerbaijan enlists Turkish general to improve its military
Azerbaijan has launched a project to elevate its military to NATO standards and is planning to take important steps in 2007 to accomplish this goal.

The administration in Baku is reportedly planning to appoint a Turkish general as its deputy defense minister. According to the news reports that appeared in the Azeri press, a Turkish general, appointed by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), will assume the post in mid-2007.

A news story published by Ayna, a daily paper in Azerbaijan, wrote that Baku will grant the Turkish general significant authority and permit him to work with his team from Turkey. The partnership is planned to continue until 2011, during which time a few Turkish generals to be selected by the Turkish Armed Forces will consecutively occupy the post.

The newspaper also wrote that Azeri and Turkish military officials had been discussing the subject for some time and that it would be taken up during the visit of Gen. Ilker Basbug, commander-in-chief of the Turkish Ground Forces, to Azerbaijan in January. Ayna assumes that the identity of the deputy defense minister will emerge within few months following this meeting.

Azerbaijan will model this system on a project implemented by Lithuania in 2002, when the country appointed a retired American colonel, Ionas Kronkaytis, as chief of staff upon recommendation from NATO and U.S. military authorities. Kronkaytis reformed the Lithuanian army in 2003 according to NATO standards, which resulted in the country joining the alliance.

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=39763