NATO-LED EXERCISES START IN ARMENIA
RIA Novosti
13:40 | 29/ 09/ 2008
YEREVAN, September 29 (RIA Novosti) – Over 900 troops from 21
countries have started NATO-led exercises in Armenia, the Armenian
Defense Ministry said on Monday.
The Cooperative Longbow/Lancer – 2008 drills will be held through
October 21 and will involve seven members of the Western military
alliance, along with 14 participant states in the NATO cooperation
programs Partnership for Peace (PfP) and Istanbul Cooperation
Initiative (ICI).
The exercises, aimed at improving interoperability between
multinational troops in NATO-led operations, fall into two
parts. Cooperative Longbow will feature staff training, and Cooperative
Lancer will be devoted to field drills.
The scenario is based on a NATO-led Crisis Response Operation mandated
by the UN. It involves the evacuation of non-combatant civilians,
counter-terrorist activities, and also stabilization operations.