Armenian officers waiting for Azeri visas to attend NATO conference

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
5 Jun 04

Presenter Baku continues to be faithful to itself. Even today it
is under a cloud of suspicion over whether the Armenian delegation
will be able to take part in the 22 June planning conference for the
Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercises in Baku.

To recap, many obstacles have been created for the Armenian
servicemen and they were not allowed to go to Baku to take part in
the last planning conference for the Cooperative Best Effort-2004
exercises. The deputy commander of the US European Command, Gen Charles
Wald, who visited Armenia in April, said that Armenian servicemen
would certainly take part in NATO events. The Azerbaijani president
Ilham Aliyev personally assured and promised the American general
that Armenian servicemen would have no problems participating in the
Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercises. Despite this the Azerbaijani
side has not yet granted the Armenian servicemen entry visas, the
deadline for which is 7 June.

Correspondent The Cooperative Best Effort-2004 programme is of great
importance for Armenia. The member countries’ participation in the
planning conference is also of great importance for NATO. Through the
Best Effort programme improvements should be implemented in the member
countries’ defence spheres and defence systems. Azerbaijan hindering
Armenia’s participation in the planning conference and exercises
certainly casts doubt on the very existence of future NATO programmes.

Chief of the Armenian Defence Ministry’s foreign relations and
international military cooperation department, Maj-Gen Mikael
Melkonyan, captioned I think that if Azerbaijan continues to put up
obstacles, the NATO leadership will take the appropriate decision. It
is even probable that the exercises will not take place.

Correspondent Mikael Melkonyan is optimistic and hopes that the
Azerbaijani side may on the last day grant entry visas to the Armenian
servicemen. At a seminar on military service, objectives and solutions
and the Armenian army’s achievements and objectives, the general of the
Armenian armed forces noted that impressions of our army outside of
our country are quite positive. The Armenian peacekeeping battalion
was recognized the best in the Cooperative Best Effort exercises
which took place in Georgia in 2002 and in Armenia in 2003.

Passage omitted: the seminar also discussed alternative service

Ayk Ovanesyan, “Aylur”