NATO will not be able to guarantee security of the South Caucasian states, as they are non-members, said Seth Cropsey, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense who currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington.  

He also noted that even if the most important agreements require actions, it is difficult for alliance to act. “I find it difficult to see how NATO could guarantee the security of non-members,” he told APA.

Commenting on regional countries’ possible joining NATO, Cropsey stressed that “the question of Georgia’s potential membership must be resolved before Azerbaijan’s.” “The most important questions regarding membership, however, are whether strategic interests coincide which in this and all other cases of countries that seek to join the alliance include meeting the established political and military membership criteria,” he stated.

The expert said that tension remains high in the Caucasus, in particular due to shootings on the contact line between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and NKR. “Additionally, there is potential tension among the immediate neighboring states because of the long-term consequences raised by the possibility of strategic competition between Turkey and Iran which must affect the entire region. If the balanced relationship between religion and state that characterizes Azerbaijan continues to apply to Turkey, the entire region will become more stable and secure,” Cropsey said.