The New Dark Age

6 December 2011 — Stop NATO

• Creation Of CELAC Marks Trend Toward Multipolar Global Governance
• Germany: NATO Military Committee Inspects Missile Shield Command
• Russia To Take Further Actions In Response To U.S. Missiles
• Bonn: NATO To Pursue Permanent Partnership With Afghanistan
• NATO Warplanes Kill Eight Afghan Civilians, 20,000 Protest
• Reflections After Ten Years Of NATO’s War In Afghanistan
• Video And Text: Antagonizing Pakistan And Russia, U.S. Vulnerable On Afghanistan
• Russia, China Abstain: UN Tightens Sanctions On Eritrea
• Clinton To Meet Syrian Opposition Figures
• Iraqi Wahhabis Offer Fighters, Weapons To Syrian Opposition
• Most Modern In South Caucasus And Central Asia: New Weapons Testing Center In Azerbaijan ‘To Meet All NATO Standards’
• Open Society Institute In Azerbaijan: Mission Accomplished
• European Union Transfers Azerbaijan From Asia To Europe

Creation Of CELAC Marks Trend Toward Multipolar Global Governance

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-12/05/c_131288689.htm

China Daily
December 5, 2011

Latin America integration
By Sun Hongbo*

BEIJING: Creation of CELAC reflects the region’s growing influence in the trend toward multi-polarization of world governance.

The official creation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) at the third Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Dec 2 is a landmark event for the region.

With a number of emerging economies and a growing influence in the global governance process, it is no longer a traditionally marginalized peripheral region and CELAC reflects the region’s efforts to push for deeper Latin American integration and its growing influence as an important force in the trend toward multi-polarization of the international political and economic landscape.

Thanks to the region’s rich resources, huge development potential and rising international status, major powers have been re-evaluating the strategic position of Latin America since the outbreak of the global financial crisis. Their main goal is to seize strategically scarce resources and markets, and to try and secure the support of Latin American countries on global challenges, such as climate change and reform of the international financial system.

The founding of CELAC is a major breakthrough in regional integration and will help members resolve misunderstandings, differences and tensions and will strengthen their ability to prevent external interference in the region.

CELAC will take on the role as ‘regional spokesman’ at ministerial talks at key international forums, according to The Caracas Declaration, a key document signed at the new bloc’s founding summit.

By establishing their own communication and coordination mechanism, Latin American and Caribbean countries will be able to strengthen regional dialogue and cooperation and improve their voice and influence in global governance; and they will be able to explore new paths of development, resolve differences and frictions within the region, and respond to new challenges brought about by the rapid transformation of the international landscape.

As a regional body that excludes the United States, CELAC can become an alternative to the Organization of American States that is dominated by Washington. Most Latin American countries want to escape or at least weaken the overwhelming influence of the US.

Especially since the rise of Latin American leftists, a wave of ‘removing Americanization’ is growing in all fields from ideology to economy, finance, trade, security and diplomacy. The US-advocated ‘Free Trade Area of the Americas’, after all, ended in failure and the Obama administration’s efforts to adjust its Latin American policy have achieved little progress.

Cooperation within the region can help the group cope with the international economic crisis collectively, and promote complementary cooperation in trade, energy, agriculture, social development, finance, infrastructure construction, climate change and other areas.

However, the operation and development of CELAC still faces many challenges.

The members have not yet reached a complete consensus over the positioning of function and the operating framework is also under discussion, including the direction of mechanization, the source of funding, and how to coordinate with other sub-regional organizations.

The interference of external forces, trade protectionism within Latin America and territorial disputes are also potential obstacles for the future development of CELAC.

In addition, the big regional countries have different priorities in regional integration. Brazil regards the Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations as important, while Mexico, which is under the framework of North American Free Trade Agreement, is highly dependent on its trade with the US.

Nevertheless, the creation of CELAC is in line with the overall interests of Latin America.

China has been actively developing its relationship with Latin America, and is willing to strengthen dialogue, consultation and cooperation with relevant organizations in various fields. China has established a ministerial-level dialogue mechanism with the Rio Group, and has become an observer of the Latin American Parliament, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, and Latin American Integration Association.

The relations between China and Latin America are constantly moving from the bilateral to global level, and mutual contact and cooperation is continually being enhanced.

China expects steady and sound development of CELAC, and hopes it can become a major platform for China-Latin American regional dialogue and cooperation in the future.

*The author is an associate professor with the Institute of Latin American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

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Germany: NATO Military Committee Inspects Missile Shield Command

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-2B2FF0F4-9B1DA004/natolive/news_81754.htm

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
December 5, 2011

NATO’s Military Committee visits Allied Air Command Headquarters at Ramstein

Ramstein: NATO’s Military Committee (MC) paid its first official visit to Allied Air Command Ramstein to receive an operational level update and discuss the Alliance’s military progress on Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). Nations agreed to develop a NATO BMD capability at the November 2010 Lisbon Summit.

The Military Committee also took the opportunity to view the home of NATO’s future single air command and control headquarters. A new NATO Command Structure was approved by Defence Ministers in June 2011, and the subsequent geographic decision identified locations of the various NATO command entities. 

The MC gained further insight into Alliance airpower capabilities and the Air Command’s expanded role under the future command construct. One of the Air Command’s tasks is to advise how best to integrate BMD into the widely successful NATO Integrated Air Defense System (NATINADS) that is utilized daily to conduct Air Policing. 2011 marks the 50th year of NATINADS providing airspace integrity and defence for the Alliance, and it will serve as a solid backbone for the BMD mission as well.

Lieutenant General Walter Gaskin, Acting Chairman of the Military Committee, underlined the critical need for the Alliance to fully develop a Missile Defence capability: ‘The current global security situation underscores the need for a collective Ballistic Missile Defence capability…I anticipate that the practical work on this subject within the Military Committee, as well as the wider NATO community, will continue to move forward.’

General Welsh, Commander Allied Air Command Ramstein, commented on the visit: ‘I am extremely honored to host the Acting Chairman and distinguished members of the Military Committee. I am also very proud of the men and women of Allied Air Command Ramstein who worked hard to make this day a success and are committed each and every day to doing their part to help achieve an interim NATO BMD capability.’

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Russia To Take Further Actions In Response To U.S. Missiles

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/05/61602504.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
December 5, 2011

Russia determined to respond to US ABM plans – Medvedev

       
Russia still hopes to persuade the United States not to act unilaterally in developing missile defenses for Europe. At the same time, it is prepared to respond to any unilateral American ABM scheme by improving the protection of its strategic sites, deploying missiles that easily penetrate missile defenses and positioning weaponry near its western and southern borders that is capable of destroying hostile ABMs.

President Medvedev spoke about this to his supporters at a meeting outside Moscow Monday. He said his statement on the matter on November 23rd has received overwhelming domestic support.

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http://rt.com/politics/medvedev-missile-defense-us-elections-gorki-071/

RT
December 5, 2011

Medvedev ‘drops a bomb’ on missile defense
Robert Bridges

President Dmitry Medvedev provided some key insights into the run-up to the parliamentary elections, which saw United Russia retain its majority position in the State Duma.

Speaking on US plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, a project that threatens to escalate into another arms race, Medvedev said that his most recent warnings on the project had no connection to the electoral campaign as some critics at home and abroad suggested.

‘As soon as I made the statement, I heard rumors it was made to strengthen the position of United Russia before the election and my own position during the period of the transition in power,’ the Russian leader told his supporters in Gorki, the presidential residence in the suburbs of Moscow.

‘I would like to say again now that the election is over – this was an absolutely conscious statement. I did not want to make it for a long time, but I had to make it in the end,’ he said.

Last month, Medvedev warned the western powers that Russia would fortify its borders with Iskander ballistic missiles unless a compromise is reached on the European missile defense project, which Moscow views as a direct threat to its national security. The US and NATO have balked on the question of Russia’s participation in the long-term project, just miles from the Russian border.

The President stressed that his comments were very well received by the Russian public, who is also beginning to express alarm at the irrational behavior of the United States and NATO of late.

‘I do not know how it may be interpreted, but I want to say one simple thing that leads to one simple conclusion: I have not seen such unanimity regarding the president’s position for a long time,’ Medvedev said.

‘Everyone – the left, the right, the young and the old – want us to be firm. There is such a demand.’

Medvedev made his comment after a speech by Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s Permanent Representative to NATO, a member of the committee of the president’s supporters.

‘So what shall we do,’ the president asked Rogozin in a tongue-in-cheek comment. ‘Shall we drop a bomb or not?’

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Bonn: NATO To Pursue Permanent Partnership With Afghanistan

http://www.isaf.nato.int/article/bonn-conference/index.php

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
International Security Assistance Force
December 5, 2011

Bonn Conference: NATO will not abandon Afghanistan
Ambassador Simon Gass
NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan.

On 5 December some 90 delegations from across the globe will meet in Bonn, Germany, to discuss Afghanistan. The conference takes place exactly ten years after the first Bonn Conference…in 2001. I expect this second Bonn meeting to deliver a strong confirmation of support for Afghanistan, not just until 2014 when ISAF’s combat mission will come to an end, but afterwards as well.

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The Bonn Conference will be the occasion for countries to agree that they will take on this burden. Once we have this broad agreement, there will be meetings in 2012 at which further details of this support can be worked out: including the NATO Summit meeting in Chicago in May which will be a key step in defining NATO’s partnership with Afghanistan beyond 2014…

[T]he US Geological Service estimates that Afghanistan has mineral reserves worth over $900 billion – work is underway to begin their exploitation.

So the Bonn Conference will be a chance for us to look forward to our long-term partnership with Afghanistan…

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NATO Warplanes Kill Eight Afghan Civilians, 20,000 Protest

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=10785&Cat=13

The News
December 5, 2011

14 die in Nato bombing, firing by Afghan forces

PESHAWAR: Fourteen people, including three children and two women, were reportedly killed and 13 others were injured in Nato bombing and subsequent firing by Afghan security forces on villagers who had gathered to protest the killing of civilians in a night bombing at Tagab in the Kapisa province of Afghanistan on Sunday.

Some residents of Tagab on Sunday called The News from Afghanistan and complained that Nato fighter jets Saturday night pounded the Rahmani village and killed villagers and some guests, including three children and two women, who had gathered at the house of a villager to felicitate him on performing Haj.

They said eight people were killed and five others were injured in the Nato attack. Afghan nationals including Saeedullah Gul, Bakhta Jan and Rasool Amin said all the people killed in the Nato strike were innocent and had nothing to do with the Taliban. They said targeting of the innocent villagers enraged the local people and around 15,000 to 20,000 people staged a protest to condemn the killing of women and children.

The protesters staged a rally outside the main government offices and chanted slogans against the US-led Nato forces. According to the villagers, the Afghan security forces opened fire on the protesters and killed six villagers and injured eight others. It led to skirmishes between the Afghan security forces and protesters in Tagab for a few hours.

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Earlier, the governor of Kapisa province confirmed the incident and told the media that six persons were killed in the incident and three others were injured. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the hujra (male guesthouse) of local elder Haji Mohammad Zaman was hit by the Nato forces when he was receiving guests who had come to felicitate him on performing Haj. He had come two days ago from Haj but was killed in the attack along with his relatives and guests.

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Reflections After Ten Years Of NATO’s War In Afghanistan

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/05/61609225.html

Voice of Russia
December 5, 2011

What awaits Afghanistan after NATO goes?
Olga Denisova

[Excerpts]

Anniversaries are usually a reason to sum up the outcome of the years which have passed – but, if you sum up the current outcomes of NATO’s 10-year-long Afghan operation, they will hardly seem inspiring. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on this operation, thousands of people – both NATO servicemen and Afghans – gave their lives, but Afghanistan is still terrorized by militants who kill both top political figures and common civilians. Besides, Afghanistan is still the world’s largest producer and spreader of drugs. And, the worst thing is that there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says:

‘I think, the activity of the Shanghai Organization for Cooperation, of which Afghanistan and all the countries which border with it are members [or affiliates], is a good example of how countries can unite their efforts to fight against the evil of terrorism. But I also think that after stability is finally restored in Afghanistan, for this stability to be strong and lasting, Afghanistan should not be a member of any alliance anymore.’

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Video And Text: Antagonizing Pakistan And Russia, U.S. Vulnerable On Afghanistan

http://rt.com/news/afghanistan-transit-pakistan-us-027/

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Video

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RT
December 5, 2011

Transitory friendships: US vulnerable over Afghan supply

-‘There are processes which are critically important for Russia – which are about Russia’s national security. One of them is NATO expansion to Russian borders and the fact that Washington goes ahead with a robust missile shield program in Europe without taking into consideration Russia’s concerns, gives Moscow the right to use any leverage it has to be heard by its partner.’

NATO’s recent deadly air attack on Pakistan has put the US mission in Afghanistan in danger with supplies cut-off, meaning Washington will soon have to turn to other transit states to keep its military effort going.
Russia is among the alternatives and this could mean some well-timed diplomatic leverage for Moscow.

After the deadly friendly-fire attack last week that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and injured many more, Washington has attempted to smother the scandal.

‘I would like to extend my most sincere condolences,’ mumbled the US ambassador in Pakistan Cameron Munter.

But for Pakistan, Washington’s condolences were not enough.

Clearly, supplies are what keep a war running. So since Islamabad is fed up with the American war on the neighborly territory, it simply cut off one of the NATO’s major supply routes, thus putting all alliance’s operations in Afghanistan in danger.

‘The repeated incursions by the US military in Pakistan really left no choice – and also the humiliation that the Pakistani military faced in front of its own soldiers and the Pakistani people – left no choice before the government this time cut off  the supply line,’ argued Ahmed Quraishi, the president of PakNationalists Forum in Islamabad.

With relations between the US and Pakistan as unstable as ever, in order to keep the war in Afghanistan running, NATO relies more on its other major supply route coming from the north.

The northern supply network was started a few years ago, when Russia agreed to provide its territory and airspace for the transit of non-lethal supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan. It proved to be a very reliable route, more reliable than Pakistan, now it accounts for half of NATO’s non-lethal supplies. On trucks, by railroad and air, supplies travel through Russian territory from Europe and from Russia’s Far East all the way to Afghanistan.

And the reliance on this route is set to expand.

In the last three years, Russia’s co-operation on Afghanistan has been key to NATO operations there.

Speaking in a strictly personal capacity, Michael Vlahos, professor of strategy at the United States Naval War College, confessed to RT that ‘The US has a very tenuous kind of placement in Afghanistan and it is highly vulnerable – to the Pakistanis. But it is more vulnerable no to Russia. If Russia were to withdraw its permission for the US to use its rail lines we would be in a very difficult position in Afghanistan.’

The Northern supply network could now be in danger because of a failure in diplomacy.

Moscow says: because Washington turned down all of its proposals on the missile defense issue, Russia might have to resort to other arguments – including its co-operation with NATO on Afghanistan.

‘There are processes which are critically important for Russia – which are about Russia’s national security,’ outlined Yury Krupnov, Institute for Demography, Migration and Regulation Development. ‘One of them is NATO expansion to Russian borders and the fact that Washington goes ahead with a robust missile shield program in Europe without taking into consideration Russia’s concerns, gives Moscow the right to use any leverage it has to be heard by its partner.’

But even the mere possibility that Russia could cut off the northern supply route, threatens the viability of all Western operations in Afghanistan.

NATO risks leaving almost 140,000 of its troops in Afghanistan without vital supplies if diplomacy does not win the day. With Pakistan, it is about people there being fed up. With Russia it is about their national security. If Washington does not seriously address the concerns of its partners, even the best partnerships can fade.

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Russia, China Abstain: UN Tightens Sanctions On Eritrea

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/ocountries/1965664.html

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
December 5, 2011

UN tightens sanctions against Eritrea for supporting terrorism

The United Nations has tightened sanctions against several Eritrean individuals and institutions for harbouring terrorists active in neighbouring Somalia, dpa reported.

The decision, approved by the UN Security Council late Monday, will freeze overseas funds and impose a travel ban on state representatives.

…

Thirteen of the Security Council’s 15 members approved the extension of sanctions Monday, after China and Russia abstained.

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Clinton To Meet Syrian Opposition Figures

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/usa/1965653.html

Trend News Agency
December 6, 2011

Clinton to meet with Syrian exiles

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is using a European trip to hold a rare meeting with Syrian opposition figures, Today’s Zaman reported.

Clinton plans to sit down with seven Syrian-born opponents of the Bashar Assad regime during a visit to Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

A US State Department official says it’s only the second time she has held such a session since the United States decided this summer that Assad would never allow reforms and must leave office.

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Iraqi Wahhabis Offer Fighters, Weapons To Syrian Opposition

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1965557.html

Trend News Agency
December 5, 2011

Iraqi jihadists seek to arm Syrian opposition

Members of Iraqi online jihadist forums have called for fighters and arms to be sent to aid Syrians opposing President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, who have faced a brutal crackdown since March Al Ahram reported

Sunni jihadist sites such as Honein and Ansar al-Mujahedeen display numerous comments and articles critical of Assad’s regime, and videos of bloody events they say took place in Syria.

The Syrian regime is largely made up of minority Alawites, an offshoot of Shia Islam, while protesters demanding reforms are largely from its Sunni majority.

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Syrian army deserters have…formed the Free Syrian Army which is inflicting growing losses on regular forces.

Al-Mansur, a poster on the Honein forum, wrote an article entitled, ‘What is Required of Us Towards our Brothers, the Revolutionaries in Syria,’ in which he called for ‘providing all kinds of support to your brothers, from what you have, my Iraqi mujahedeen (holy warriors) brothers, in skills and experience.’

‘Our jihad (holy war), my brothers in Iraq or Syria is for one purpose…,’

‘The duty of jihad,’ Al-Mansur wrote, ‘is coming to you again.’

Another poster, Obeid Allah, said in article entitled ‘The role of Iraqi Jihadist Organisations in What is Happening in Syria’ that ‘some may say they are busy in Iraq, but I say to them that the Iraqi organisations have significant capabilities in Syria, in all aspects.’

He called on ‘our brothers…who left Iraq to Syria’ to form ‘security patrols to help our brothers from the Syrian people, as you have experience and skills…and they information and logistical support.’

On the Ansar Al-Mujahedeen forum, Sheikh al-Mujahid Abi Al-Zahra Al-Zubaidi advised the Syrian opposition to ‘buy weapons and arm yourselves with them and seize them from stockpiles, for this is your only chance to remove the tyrant of Syria and his soldiers.’

He also advised Assad opponents to coordinate with the Islamic State of Iraq, Al-Qaeda’s front organisation here, and to ‘listen to them and follow their orders and be good soldiers for them.’

The stances of those posting on the forums is at odds with that of Iraq’s Shia-led government, which has so far shied away from punitive measures against Assad’s regime, abstaining from both a vote to suspend Syria from the Arab League, and another to impose sanctions against Syria.

Analysts have said that the Iraqi government’s response to the situation in Syria has confessional overtones and may boost Sunni-Shiite sectarian divisions here.

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Abu al-Fadhal Maadi, a poster on Ansar al-Mujahedeen, said that ‘if it appears that the people of Syria in their current borders cannot alone repel the aggressors, jihad also becomes a duty in the closest adjacent areas.

‘Lebanon carries the most importance, because of its geographic location very close to…the heart of Syria and its centre, Homs, and because the possibility to smuggle weapons is highest in Lebanon.’

Abu Yusef al-Muhajar wrote: ‘I swear by God we will not let you down.’

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Most Modern In South Caucasus And Central Asia: New Weapons Testing Center In Azerbaijan ‘To Meet All NATO Standards’

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=161023

Azeri Press Agency
December 5, 2011

Azerbaijan establishes modern weapon test center
Rashad Suleymanov

Baku: Azerbaijan is establishing a modern weapon testing center, the most modern center in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, APA was told at the Cabinet of Ministers.

Home-produced weapons and ammunitions, as well as other defense products will be tested in the center. The laboratories will be supplied with modern technologies to make accurate diagnoses. Customers can test the weapons and ammunitions they buy from Azerbaijan.

The center will meet all NATO standards. The companies of other countries can also test their products in this center.

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Open Society Institute In Azerbaijan: Mission Accomplished

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=161017

Azeri Press Agency
December 5, 2011

Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation concludes activity in Azerbaijan

Baku: The Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Azerbaijan issued a statement on the conclusion of its activity.

The statement reads: ‘After 15 years of using grants to promote democratic reform and civil society in Azerbaijan, the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Azerbaijan (OSIAF-Azerbaijan) will conclude its grant making activities in 2012 and begin a process of renewing its operations and structure. As the foundation undergoes this transition, the Open Society Foundations, of which OSIAF-Azerbaijan is a part, will continue to provide support from outside the country to efforts to promote open society in Azerbaijan’.

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European Union Transfers Azerbaijan From Asia To Europe

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=161003

Azeri Press Agency
December 5, 2011

Roland Kobia: ‘Azerbaijan has a good chance to be in Europe’
Kamala Guliiyeva

Baku: ‘The power of every state depends on its state administration. The state must be guided by the principles of democracy and human rights.

‘We see that Azerbaijan took this course’, said the head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan Roland Kobia in his speech at the international conference ‘Efficient state management: challenges of the time’.

Kobia said that anti-corruption and transparency must be the basic objectives of the state. ‘It refers both to Azerbaijan and European countries. We see that Azerbaijan succeeds in it. Azerbaijan is a part of Eastern Europe. It has a good chance to be in Europe. May be, it is seen as being very difficult. But we – Europe and Azerbaijan – can achieve this goal together’.

The head of the delegation also said that the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest, which will be held in Baku next year, will contribute to Azerbaijan’s recognition in Europe: ‘Azerbaijan’s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council will make Azerbaijan known in Europe. Azerbaijan integrates into Europe step by step’.

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http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=160983

Azeri Press Agency
December 5, 2011

Azerbaijan switches to European standards in construction
Ali Ahmadov

Baku: the State Committee for Construction and Architecture of Azerbaijan is working to bring European standards to national building standards and regulations.

Such work is carried out for 17 standards, including standards for the construction of administrative and residential buildings, bridges and pipelines, hydro plants, public buildings and installations, boiler plants, landfills, buildings, health facilities, according to construction in seismic areas, etc.

In parallel, the transition to a European coding system, building materials, construction and services are being learnt too…