ARMENIA NOT PLANNING TO JOIN NATO: FM
Xinhua General News Service
July 6, 2008 Sunday 10:10 PM EST
Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandian said the south Caucasus
state is not seeking to join NATO, but will enhance cooperation with
the alliance, reports reaching here said on Sunday.
"NATO membership does not rank among Armenia’s foreign-policy goals,
but Armenia is cooperating intensively with the alliance," Interfax
quoted Nalbandian as saying at a joint news conference with his Czech
counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.
NATO and Armenia have recently completed a "positive" two-year
cooperation program, he said, noting a new two-year cooperation
program is underway.
Russia has repeatedly warned against NATO’s eastward expansion,
expressing concerns over the bid for the alliance’s membership by
former Soviet republics, such as Georgia and Ukraine.