WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 6, 2009 Wednesday

ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN WILL PARTICIPATE IN EXERCISE;
Moldova alone will abstain, persuaded by Russia

Mikhail Zygar

AZERBAIJAN AND EVEN ARMENIA (A CIS COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY
ORGANIZATION MEMBER) WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE ALLIANCE’S EXERCISE IN
GEORGIA OVER RUSSIA’S PROTESTATIONS; The Alliance is determined to run
a military exercise in Georgia.

The meeting of the Russian-NATO Council, the first since last autumn,
took place in Brussels. Russian Representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin
made a ritualistic statement on the necessity to cancel the NATO
exercise in Georgia scheduled for later this month. The Alliance
traditionally dismissed the idea. It was probably the only tricky
moment in the entire meeting.

"I like it that the meeting will take place. It does not mean,
however, that all of a sudden we agree with each other on absolutely
everything. We have interests that do not necessarily jibe," NATO
Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said. Sources from NATO HQ
meanwhile proclaimed Brussels ready for a restoration of relations
with Russia interrupted after the war in Georgia. They warned,
however, that restoration of relations did not mean that the subjects
of Georgia as well as those of Abkhazia and South Ossetia were off the
agenda for good.

Since the first meeting was essentially ritualistic, discourse over
the legend of the forthcoming Cooperative Longbow’09/Cooperative
Lancer’09 became the main intrigue of the whole event. Rogozin brought
the matter up, as promised. (Russia had demanded cancellation of the
exercise a week ago. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had denied the
plans to participate even in the observer’s capacity and advised other
countries to follow suit). Scheffer announced that cancelling the
exercise was out of the question and once again reiterated that it was
not aimed at Russia.

What aggravates Russia is that the future exercise is not to be
restricted to NATO members alone. Even some countries of the
Commonwealth are supposed to participate in the exercise – namely
Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Kazakhstan refused to participate in
the NATO exercise last week, Moldova on April 29.

CIS countries’ intention to participate in the exercise upset the Duma
which found this intention on the part of Armenia particularly
disturbing. Armenia is a member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization. Some commentators assumed that Yerevan would follow in
the wake of Astana (Kazakhstan) and change its mind concerning
participation. President of Armenia, Serj Sargsjan, visited Moscow and
met with President Dmitry Medvedev last week but neither national
leader would so much as mention the forthcoming exercise. Deputy
Secretary General of NATO Claudio Bisogniero visited Yerevan last
Tuesday. Sargsjan assured the visitor that integration in Europe
remained the high priority of Armenia’s foreign policy and cooperation
with NATO its crucial element. Sargsjan actually called cooperation
with the Alliance within the framework of the Partnership for Peace
NATO’s Program an element of Armenian national security.

Source: Kommersant, April 30, 2009, p. 8