BAKU. March 15 (Interfax-Azerbaijan) - General Charles Wald, deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, denied speculation about U.S. intentions to deploy military bases in Azerbaijan at a news conference in Baku on March 13.
Wald said he had held discussions in Azerbaijan on March 12- 13 with officials from the European Command's advisory group and General Gregory Johnson, the NATO commander for southern Europe, in which a broad range of issues were addressed concerning military cooperation between the two countries.
Wald said the U.S. is conducting consultations on the organization of training and military exercises for Azerbaijani ground and marine troops to improve coordination in military management.
The main purpose of these exercises is to improve Azerbaijan's potential for fighting terrorism, Wald said.