James Appathurai: NATO will further develop its dialogue and broaden its cooperation with countries of South Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - Newly appointed NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai said that one cannot think of the security of the 28 NATO Member States without thinking as well of the security of the wider Euro-Atlantic community and that includes the South Caucasus.

“I expect that NATO will further develop its dialogue and broaden its cooperation with the countries of the South Caucasus over the coming period. In addition, NATO offers a number of wider frameworks (Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, meetings of ISAF troop contributors etc) giving the countries of the region a voice in multilateral consultations on key security issues,” Appathurai said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net

Appathurai expressed appreciation for the troops which Armenia currently contributes to ISAF and the ones it intends to provide. He added that NATO’s relations with Armenia are developing satisfactorily and gaining in substance within the framework of the NATO-Armenia Individual Partnership Action Plan. “Beyond the ISAF contribution already mentioned, we focus together on defense reform and aspects of broader security sector reform. We also have an ongoing political dialogue on regional security and political issues. Next year, we will discuss with Armenia the content of a new Individual Partnership Action Plan, which will be an opportunity to widen the scope of our cooperation,” said Appathurai.

The full text of James Appathurai’s interview with PanARMENIAN.Net is available on Interviews division of Armenia and World section.