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BAKU, July 5 (Itar-Tass) —— NATO will broaden relations with Azerbaijan in energy, cyber security and peacekeeping in Afghanistan, NATO Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai told a Tuesday press conference in Baku. This is a leg of his first regional tour.
He said NATO was grateful to Azerbaijan for its contribution to the coalition efforts in Afghanistan. Azerbaijan supports NATO in Afghanistan with its peacekeepers, specialists and transit, he noted.
Appathurai said he had asked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for further support to NATO as a transit route to Afghanistan. He also said that the cooperation might become closer.
Ninety Azerbaijani peacekeepers are currently on mission in Afghanistan.
As for the Karabakh problem, Appathurai said that NATO was not involved in the settlement process but it was obvious that the problem had no military solution and could be resolved only with diplomatic methods.