Azerbaijan military to take part in operation in Afghanistan

Azerbaijan military will take part in a peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan as part of the Turkish contingent, said President of Azerbaijan Geidar Aliyev on Monday before leaving for Istanbul to attend a summit of the heads of member-states of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization.

During his stay in Turkey, where he intends to remain until June 28, Aliyev will have meetings with president Ahmet Necet Sezer and other representatives of the country's top leadership. He said prior to his departure that, "taking into account the strategic cooperation between the two countries, it is expected that they will discuss all aspects of their cooperation in one or another form." Aliyev also expects to meet in Istanbul with the Russian, American and French co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk group for settling the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict.