ROBERT SIMMONS: KARABAKH ISSUE SHOULD BE SOLVED PEACEFULLY
armradio.am
20.10.2008 18:10
The Nagorno Karabakh issue should be solved peacefully, Special
Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the Caucasus and
Central Asia Robert Simmons said during today’s meeting with the
students of the Yerevan State Linguistic University. According to him,
the issues should be solved by Armenia and Azerbaijan, while external
forces can only advise.
Speaking about Armenia’s cooperation with NATO, he noted that
it is very important in current hard times for the region. "This
cooperation should be put on a firm basis, continue and develop it,"
Robert Simmons said.
He said the military exercise held in Armenia with participation of
NATO servicemen was a real progress. According to him, the exercises
will help the army be organized and manage to effectively act in
crisis situations. It will also contribute to maintaining peace and
stability in the region and will develop multinational cooperation.
Robert Simmons attached importance to the cooperation between NATO
and other countries of the region and underlined that it does not
mean they should tear their ties with other structures they cooperated
wit. NATO is not going to sent troops to the South Caucasus. "The main
task for NATO is to ensure stability, we cooperate with different
international structures, particularly the EU and UN, towards this
end,9 D he said. In the context of ensuring stability in the region,
Simmons attached importance to the normalization of relations with
Turkey and noted that solutions can be found to all issues.