ITAR-Tass, Russia
Feb 2 2007

US EMBASSY SAYS REPORT ON ARMENIA’S NATO AMBITIONS "MISTAKE"

Yerevan, 1 February: NATO recognizes the decision of Armenia, the US
embassy said in a statement released today.

"Armenia said that it does not pursue NATO membership and NATO
recognizes this decision, while welcoming remarkable cooperation with
NATO," the statement said. "Countries involved in NATO partnership
programmes themselves decide how far this integration will go."

The embassy’s statement came in response to a report by the George
Marshall European Centre for Security Studies. While announcing the
agenda for a seminar to be conducted by the centre on 5-7 February,
the organization said that details of Armenia’s membership of NATO
will be discussed.

The embassy expressed its "regret over the mistake made in the George
Marshall Centre’s press release, because it does not reflect the
policies of the USA or NATO."

We are satisfied with Armenia’s cooperation with NATO within the
partnership programme, the Americans said. Frank Boland, a
representative of the international headquarters of NATO, will visit
Armenia this week for a professional assessment of the progress made,
the embassy said.

The report of the centre "is wide of the mark and does not proceed
from the spirit of Armenia’s Individual Partnership Action Plan with
NATO and from the interests of the republic’s cooperation with the
George Marshall Centre," the Defence Ministry reported on Wednesday
[31 January]. The ministry confirmed that Armenia had no intention of
joining NATO. "NATO membership is not on the agenda of Armenia’s
foreign policy," the statement said.