Pan Armenian News
ARMENIA PARTICIPATION IN IPAP WILL ALLOW CREATING PLAN OF LONG-TERM
PARTNERSHIP WITH NATO
09.06.2005 06:06
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s participation in the Individual Partnership
Action Plan (IPAP) will form the basis for strategic cooperation with the
Alliance, stated Mher Shahgeldyan, the head of the Commission on Defense,
National Security and Internal Affairs of the Armenian Parliament, Deputy
Chairman of Orinats Yerkir party that is part of the ruling coalition,
reported Regnum news agency. `It is a very important document that refers to
security, defense issues, as well as human rights, struggle against
corruption, democratization, specifically public and parliamentary control
over security,’ the Armenian MP said. In his words, the document presented
by the Armenian party was appreciated and characterized as a `pragmatic’
one. The participation in the IPAP provides an opportunity to form a
long-term strategic plan of partnership with the NATO, Mr. Shahgeldyan
summed up. It should be noted that earlier Deputy Minister of Defense of
Armenia, lieutenant general Artur Aghabekyan presented the main defense
reforms suggested in the document and planned to be implemented within the
IPAP, as well as mechanisms of cooperation with the NATO in order to
implement the reforms. These include `periodical consultations with the NATO
over regional security issues, working out security strategy, a military
doctrine, enhancement of the defense and budgetary planning, providing
interaction with NATO forces at an operative level, enhancement of military
education and the legal framework and others.’ At the same time, as
Aghabekyan noted, within the IPAP framework Armenia plans to get
`exclusively consultative assistance’ from the NATO member countries. He
also said the working out of the security strategy, its further public
discussion and consideration by the Parliament of 2007 convocation will form
the core of the reforms. He also emphasized that the IPAP allows reforming
the defense system gradually and under the conditions of unsettled
conflicts. In his words, the reforms to be implemented within the IPAP will
allow forming an army by 2015 that is adequate to challenges of the 21st
century: able of withstand new challenges, fully secure the state and
participate in regional and non-regional conflict settlement. Aghabekyan
also noted that reforms will be implemented taking into account four
principles `realism, stepwise principle, flexibility and profound analysis’
and will be held within the context of the overall reform of the state
system.