\"We have been doing this work since 1994, but never made much noise about this\", said the president, referring to Azerbaijan\'s efforts to join the alliance. In the past, he seldom addressed this issue personally. In 1999, presidential advisor Vafa Guluzadeh was the first to introduce the idea of inviting NATO military bases into Azerbaijan. Since then, Azerbaijan’s relations with Russia have warmed up, prompting many analysts to think that Azerbaijan has put the idea of joining NATO into its backburner. Yet, President Aliyev\'s remarks come as strong evidence of the country\'s steady course toward joining the alliance.

Bruce Jackson informed the Azerbaijani President that after the Prague summit of NATO, the focus of the alliance shifted toward the Balkans and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Of the latter, he more specifically pointed out Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan. \"If we can draw significant attention to the Caucasus region and start discussions on these countries, we can include these countries into the list of possible candidates for admissions by 2006-2007\", said the guest. According to Jackson, Ukraine and Georgia have been coordinating their efforts to join the alliance, urging Azerbaijan to do the same.

Azerbaijan\'s relations with NATO began in 1994, when the country jointed NATO\'s Partnership for Peace program. Since then, Azerbaijan has been an active participant of both NATO\'s military exercises and political summits. The most vivid evidence of Azerbaijan\'s commitment to NATO was in 1999, when the President of Azerbaijan traveled to the Washington summit of NATO in spite of international pressure on the alliance because of the Kosovo war. Yet out of the three Caucasus republics, Georgia has been perceived by the West as the most eager to join the alliance.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO has been on the rise further, mostly due to the boost of military cooperation between the U.S. and Azerbaijan. It was made possible thanks to the waiver of section 907 of the Freedom Support Act by the U.S. Congress, allowing direct U.S. assistance to the government of Azerbaijan for the first time since 1992. Azerbaijan also sent peacekeeping troops to Kosovo and Afghanistan as part of its military cooperation with NATO.

At the meeting, President Aliyev mentioned the fact that Azerbaijan has been together with the US on the war against international terror. \"You know that we immediately joined the coalition against Iraq. From all this, you can conclude that Azerbaijan has decided to join NATO and join with the US, even at times when other NATO members chose not to\", Aliyev said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Safar Abiyev is travelling to Washington in May to discuss bilateral military cooperation. The visit will take place at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and will include \"many suggestions\" that the American side has to offer to Azerbaijan. Abiyev also expressed his view that the issue of Azerbaijan\'s admission to NATO might also be on the agenda during his visit to the US.

Recent policies of the Azerbaijani government show that the nation\'s leadership sees the future of the country together with the West and within the western security system. Joining NATO would certainly benefit both sides as it would bring stability and security to the conflict-torn Caucasus region and further integrate the region into European political and economic structures.

This, however, requires much work ahead, including reforms and progress in the field of democratization. This was the message sent to the Azerbaijani leadership by Bruce Jackson. The latter urged the Azerbaijani government to intensify the fight against corruption and the conduct of free and fair elections. President Aliyev in return, said that these works are being done anyway, not depending on the fact whether Azerbaijan will be admitted to NATO or not. \"We are building a democratic legal and independent country and what you said will certainly be reflected in Azerbaijan\'s life,\" concluded the President.