ARMENIA ASSISTING NATO TO AVERT DANGERS

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24-02-2005

Today NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus
and Central Asia Robert Simmons came to meet journalists alone though
he was scheduled to give a joint press conference with Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan. It turned out that the Minister has
caught a cold and slightly ails.

Robert Simmons said he is satisfied with the level of the cooperation
between Armenia and NATO and also introduced the NATO
Officer-Coordinator, who will assist to the working out and
implementation of the program of NATO-Armenia cooperation, to the
Armenian leadership.

`Armenia is assisting NATO to combat the threats we are facing,’
Robert Simmons noted.

Mr. Simmons highly appreciated the decision of the Armenian leadership
to send a contingent to Iraq. When touching upon Armenia’s being a
CSTO member-state he stated that NATO and CSTO are not rival
organizations and advised not to mix NATO’s historical relations with
the former USSR republics including today’ s Russia.

NATO Secretary General’s Representative said that NATO is open for
those states, which meet the accepted standards. Presently 3 states –
Albania, South Macedonia and Croatia – are aspirants for NATO
membership. Mr. Simmons also noted that the three South Caucasian
stated expressed wish to join NATO.