Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 15, 2004, Wednesday

AZERBAIJAN REFUSED TO ISSUE VISAS TO ARMENIAN OFFICERS, WHO INTENDED
TO PARTICIPATE IN COOPERATIVE BEST EFFORT-2004

Colonel Seiran Shahsuvaryan, press secretary of the Armenian Defense
Ministry, stated that the embassy of Azerbaijan refused to issue
visas to five Armenian officers who intended to participate in the
Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercise. He noted that the embassy did
not announce the cause of the refusal. He said: “Armenia cannot
comment on this incident – it must be evaluated by NATO’s
leadership.” He noted that some officers faced problems with entering
Baku to attend a conference aimed at organizing this exercise. This
is why Armenian officers have attended only one out of two
conferences in Baku.

Source: KOmmersant, September 13, 2004, p. 10