NATO and Armenia close to agreeing on new partnership program - Stoltenberg
YEREVAN, March 20. /ARKA/. NATO and Armenia are close to inking a new partnership program, North Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Yerevan.
In an interview with the Public Television of Armenia Stoltenberg said the new agreement will create a new framework for understanding how ‘we can work more closely together, how NATO can assist Armenia in advancing security and defense policy, not only to help reform structures, but also to work on cybersecurity and demining in the future.’
‘Of course, we are ready to do as much as Armenia is ready to do," he said.
Noting that NATO will never force any country to act against its will, he expressed readiness to work with Armenia and called it an important partner for the Alliance.
"NATO supports Armenia's aspirations in preserving its territorial integrity and sovereignty and in promoting an independent foreign policy. It is the right of any nation to determine its own path, and Armenia is no exception," Stoltenberg emphasized.
Earlier on Tuesday during a meeting with Prime Minister Pashinyan Stoltenberg said the stability in the South Caucasus is important for Euro-Atlantic security ‘as it faces a more dangerous world.’
‘Today, Armenia and Azerbaijan have a chance to achieve lasting peace after years of conflict. That is why I call on the two countries to reach an agreement that will pave the way for the normalization of relations and lasting peace for your peoples. NATO supports Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful aspirations,” Stoltenberg said.
Armenia joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994. At the end of 2005, Armenia and NATO agreed on the first Individual Partnership Action Plan, designed for Armenia.
Since 2002, Armenia has been participating in NATO’s Planning and Analysis Process. Armenia has also made an important contribution to NATO-led peacekeeping operations under UN Security Council resolutions.
A contingent of the Armenian peacekeepers joined NATO member states in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo in 2004. In 2008, the number of Armenian contingent in KFOR doubled to 70. Armenia has also participated in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. -0-
