ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2005
DEPLOYMENT OF RUSSIAN FORCES IN ARMENIA IS SUBJECT OF BILATERAL
TREATY BETWEEN ARMENIA AND RUSSIA
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27. ARMINFO. NATO’s position has always been that
foreign forces should only be deployed on the territory of a state
with the full agreement and permission of that host state. While the
deployment of Russian forces in Armenia is the subject of a bilateral
treaty between Armenia and Russia, all force levels should be in
compliance with the limits set by the Treaty on Conventional Forces
in Europe (CFE). NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for
the South Caucasus and Central Asia Robert F. Simmons says in an
interview to ARMINFO.
‘Regarding the impact of these deployments on the balance of power in
the region, I think that both Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize that
further armed conflict would be disastrous to their people and their
economies, and so there is an enormous incentive for them to focus on
pursuing peaceful conflict resolution. With regard to NATO’s
improving relations with all three countries of the South Caucasus, I
strongly believe that NATO’s programmes with all three countries help
to enhance regional stability through promoting an efficient,
transparent, and democratically-controlled security sector. ‘ Simmons
says.