ARMENIA MAY PULL OUT OF NATO-LED DRILLS IN GEORGIA
RIA Novosti
17:27 | 05/ 05/ 2009
YEREVAN
Armenia will not take part in the upcoming NATO-led Cooperative
Longbow /Cooperative Lancer 2009 military exercises in Georgia,
an Armenian newspaper said on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
The Aravot newspaper said the decision was made after a meeting last
Wednesday in Brussels between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at which the NATO chief
supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Relations have been tense for more than two decades between Armenia
and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a
largely Armenian population. The region declared its independence
in a 1991 after a referendum boycotted by local Azerbaijanis. The
ensuing conflict claimed some 35,000 lives before a ceasefire was
signed in 1994. The area technically remains part of Azerbaijan,
but has its own de facto government.
However, Armenian authorities have not yet officially confirmed the
country’s withdrawal from the NATO exercises. Armenian Foreign Ministry
told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that the situation "was still unclear."
The Cooperative Longbow/Cooperative Lancer 2009 command-and-staff
exercise, which Russia has criticized as unhelpful in the wake of last
summer’s armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia,
is scheduled for May 6-June 1.
According to NATO, the drills are aimed at improving interoperability
between NATO and partner countries, within the framework of Partnership
for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative
programs, and will not involve any light or heavy weaponry.
Over 1,300 troops from 19 NATO member or ally states were originally
scheduled to participate, but Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova
and Serbia have already withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan confirmed on May 1 its participation in the
NATO-led exercises, and stressed the country’s commitment to relations
with NATO and its active participation in the Individual Partnership
Action Plan.