Amid Russia-NATO Tensions, Azerbaijan Hosts Pivotal Meeting

More than three years after the Kremlin’s military intervention in Ukraine and the suspension of Russian ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the alliance’s military committee chairman General Petr Pavel met with Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Defense Minister General Valery Gerasimov for the first time, in Baku on Thursday, to exchange views regarding international security in Europe and the Middle East.

“We want to reduce global tension and are pleased that such important talks are held in Baku for the second time," Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting with Gerasimov in Baku on September 7.

Aliyev was referring to an earlier meeting, held in Baku in February, which brought together Gerasimov and the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, to discuss Russo-American ties and security in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and other regions.

Thursday’s face-to-face meeting demonstrated a mutual interest in maintaining open lines of communication per NATO’s standards of transparency and having an ongoing geopolitical dialogue with senior Russian leadership.

According to reports, Gerasimov informed Pavel about the upcoming Zapad (“west”) strategic exercises that include only Russia and Union State member Belarus, emphasizing that they are defensive in nature and in no way hostile to countries not taking part in the program, such as Poland. Gerasimov said the main goal of Zapad, which is held annually, is to ensure the security of Belarus.

The exercises, considered to be the culmination of this year's annual summer combat training of Russia’s armed forces that began on June 1, will take place from September 14-20 in Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, situated along the Baltic Sea and sharing a border with Poland and Lithuania.

Preparations are underway, and include amassing some 3,000 Russian troops stationed in Belarus. Officially no fewer than 13,000 personnel from both sides will take part in the drills. However, NATO says as many as 100,000 persons could be involved if forces inside Russia are included, making Zapad 2017 the largest war games for Russia since the end of the Cold War.

While Russia calls the drills "strategic,” they have become a cause of concern for NATO. Some believe the exercises are a preparation for an invasion and occupation of Lithuania, Poland or Ukraine, all which see themselves on the front lines of any confrontation between the west and Russia. Ukraine in particular is nervous, as it has been battling an insurgency in its eastern territories since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in April 2014.  Analysts believe Russia is backing the insurgency.

For over two decades NATO has strived to build a partnership with Russia, developing dialogue and practical cooperation in areas of common interest. In 2002, the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) was established to formalize the efforts.

But any feelings of goodwill and cooperative measures were put on hold after Russia’s actions in Ukraine in 2014 and afterwards. NATO officials today remain concerned by Russia’s behavior and aggressive rhetoric, which the alliance sees as destabilizing.

Woes between the 29-member alliance and Russia go beyond Ukraine, and predate activities there in 2014. Russia's disproportionate military action in Georgia in August 2008 led to the first suspension of formal meetings of the NRC and NATO-Russian cooperation, until spring 2009. After Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, all practical military and civilian cooperation between NATO and Russia were once again put on ice.

NATO leaders openly chastised Russia at the NATO summit held in Wales in September 2014, demanding that Russia comply with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities. Leaders also called for an end to the occupation of Crimea, saying it must be returned to Ukraine, as well as end any aggressive actions elsewhere in the country. Demands stated by NATO included Russia fully withdrawing its troops, halting the flow of weapons, equipment, people and money across the border to Russian separatists; and stop fomenting tension along and across the Ukrainian border.

At the NATO summit held in Warsaw in July 2016, allied leaders reiterated their concerns about Russia’s destabilizing actions and policies, which go beyond Ukraine and include provocative military activities near NATO’s borders stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, as well as the risks posed by its military intervention and support for the regime in Syria.

Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces and First Deputy Defense Minister Gen Najmeddin Sadikov also met with General Pavel, and discussed bilateral cooperation, Azerbaijan’s participation in NATO missions, as well as regional and European security. Pavel thanked Sadikov for Azerbaijan’s contribution to the NATO’s effort in Afghanistan, where Azerbaijan has provided troops to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, as well as contribute to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund.

“Azerbaijan is a great example of the benefits of partnership for both sides:  On one hand, Azerbaijan is a reliable partner on whom we can count in our activities; on the other hand, Azerbaijan increases the interoperability and defense capabilities of its forces by working with NATO,” Pavel said.

The two also exchanged views on the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO, which was recently signed for another two-year period. IPAP sets out agreed objectives for military cooperation and timelines to achieve them. Key areas are cooperation in the defense and security sector, civil emergency planning, scientific cooperation, and public diplomacy.