TIGRAN TOROSIAN AND ROBERT SIMMONS DISCUSS ISSUES OF DEEPENING ARMENIA-NATO COOPERATION

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 24 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Within the framework of
the Individual Partnership Actions Plan (IPAP), issues of cooperation
of the NATO and Armenia were discussed at the May 23 meeting of
RA National Assembly Deputy Speaker Tigran Tororsian with the
delegation headed by Robert Simmons, the NATO Secretary’s General
Special Representative.

As for prospects of the cooperation, the NA Deputy Speaker mentioned
that it will continue both in the NATO PA and in a wide sense as
it is one of the main components of securing the security system of
Armenia. Attaching importance to meaning of constitutional amendments
from the viewpoint of deepening democracy, protecting the human rights,
formation of a complete complex of counterbalances and suppressions
of the state government system as well as solution of the securiy
problems of the country, Tigran Torosian considered natural presence
of political components at the IPAP and expressed a hope that the
cooperation with the NATO may assist successful solution of the
Eurointegration problems and improvement of regional relations,
overcoming conflicts.

Holding of the coming state elections in correspondence with the
democratic standards, future widening of the Individual Partnership
Actions Plan were mutually attached importance to. R.Simmons attached
importance to the role and meaning of the Parliament in the issue
of relations with the North Atlantic Alliance, mentioning both
work of the Armenian delegation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
and important role of people’s diplomacy. He is here to give an
intermediate estimation to the IPAP, and finds that the program has
positive developments, and the Parliament may have an active role in
its continuous character. According to Simmons, the IPAP is a document
that may be completed and developed as it has protection of democratic
values in the basis. In the opinion of the NATO Secretary’s General
Special Representative, the alliance may assist development of the
Armenia-Turkey relations.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NA Public Relations Department,
as for the state created at the Parliament of Armenia, Tigran Torosian
mentioned that re-arrangement of political forces will not influence
in any way on the foreign policy of Armenia and mutual relations
with the NATO, issues of implementation of the IPAP. It was also
mentioned that to deepen the cooperation, a commission headed by the
President of the republic on coordinating cooperation of the Republic
of Armenia with European structures has been created recently what
will considerably assist implementation of the IPAP.