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Azerbaijan Adopts New Military Doctrine |
6 June 2012On June 8 the Parliament of Azerbaijan approved, by a vote of 110 in favour to 2 against (with 1 abstention) the draft military doctrine designed to complement the National Security Doctrine ratified by President Ilham Aliyev in May 2007. The draft was first submitted to Parliament three years ago but ratification has been repeatedly delayed. It was apparently amended in the wake of the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008.
The document consists of seven sections and 75 clauses. It lists the main perceived threats facing Azerbaijan, gives the military and strategic basis of national security and outlines the main objectives of the armed forces both in war and peacetime and the prospects for further strengthening the country's military potential. The doctrine affirms that Azerbaijan has no intention of conducting military operations against any other state unless it becomes "the victim of aggression." It also rules out using war as a means of threatening the independence of other states or resolving international conflicts.
The doctrine does not allow the deployment of foreign military bases on Azerbaijani soil, except in circumstances envisaged by international treaties that Azerbaijan has ratified. Nor does it list integration with Euro-Atlantic structures as a strategic goal. That omission is hardly surprising as Azerbaijan clearly has no real interest in joining NATO, despite its official statements to the contrary. However the initial draft doctrine summarised by the Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kurrier singled out military cooperation with Turkey, NATO and the other GUAM member states (Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova) as being of special significance.
Azerbaijan's priorities in the region were outlined. The draft military doctrine takes into account global crises, the violent struggle being waged over energy resources and separatism, Trend News reported.
Azerbaijan was previously the only state in the former Soviet Union not to have such a formal statement of defence policy. After a 15 year wait, the Azerbaijani Parliament unexpectedly approved it on June 8 at an extraordinary session lasting less than a day.
The defence challenge facing Azerbaijan is complicated by the presence of Armenian forces in Nagorno Karabakh, which has unilaterally declared independence. Armenia is the only state singled out as unfriendly in the doctrine, while no country is listed as a strategic partner, not even close ally Turkey. The document rules out military action against any state except in self-defence, but in a clear reference to Nagorno Karabakh it says that Azerbaijan reserves the right to “use all means necessary, including military force, to liberate occupied territories and restore territorial integrity”.
Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry has expressed satisfaction with the new doctrine. However analysts were less complimentary about it, saying that the document was conceived in a hurry and remains incomplete. “The military doctrine is of poor quality and does not address the realities of today,” said Uzeir Jafarov, Chairman of the Centre for Military Studies. He said that in other countries defence documents contained a supplementary, confidential section, but the Azerbaijani Government appears not to have included one here.
The adoption of the doctrine came just after United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates had visited Azerbaijan, officially to discuss military sector cooperation such as allowing NATO troops to pass through the country en route to Afghanistan. In Armenia Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said that the doctrine’s reference to Armenia contradicted the provision banning the use of military force except in self-defence. Other Armenian officials said that the doctrine showed that Azerbaijan was still planning to use force to regain Karabakh. |
6 June 2012
Geotimes
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