Further development of cooperation between Armenia and NATO is expected
Military exercises to be held in Armenia
The 25th anniversary of Armenia’s cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance was marked within the previous week. A quarter century ago, in 1992, the newly independent Armenia joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council laying the foundation for the formation of a partnership with NATO. The NATO Week was held in Armenia during December 13-18, at the beginning of which the Armenian military department made remarkable statements.
Armenia and NATO member states negotiate on military-technical cooperation, there will be visible results in the near future, Levon Ayvazyan, Head of the Defense Policy Department of the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Defense, made such a statement at the meeting with journalists. “One of the agenda issues of our cooperation with our European partners, I mean the bilateral format, is also military-technical cooperation. It is not limited to buying weapons, but has many different components: the same technology cooperation, enterprises, etc.”, said Levon Ayvazyan.
Let us remind that the cooperation between Armenia and Poland in military-technical sphere has several years of experience. In 2014, the first Armenian-Polish joint military-industrial enterprise “Lyubava-Armenia” was set up. This company is engaged in the modernization of production facilities, with the production of modern multifunction camouflage technology, as well as helmets, bullet proof vests, concealing networks, etc. It is known that Warsaw has offered Yerevan new military technology, based on which the Polish side is ready to establish production here.
In response to the question whether what new opportunities the peacekeeping brigade training centre being built in the village of Zar, funded by the US Defence Ministry, will bring, Levon Ayvazyan said: “Construction of the centre is part of the US-Armenian Programs as a result of the both countries’ investment which aims to create a training centre for peacekeeping operations. We have a long-term goal: to have the capabilities of exercising peacekeeping operations. So far, our peacekeepers have been conducting their exercises abroad. After the completion of the training centre construction, maybe it will be certified and become an international peace-making training centre. Next year the centre will conduct military exercises. Our peacekeeping capabilities are evaluated according to NATO standards, and the next stage will be held in the centre”.
Armenia is ‘NATO Active Partner’
In general, 2017 was quite impressive in terms of Armenia-NATO relations. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who was in the Kingdom of Belgium on a working visit in late February, met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. At the end of the meeting the Armenian President and the NATO Secretary General made a joint press conference and summed up the talks. “I am pleased to confirm today that our cooperation has grown and has been continuously replenished with new content during that quarter century becoming one of the components of the multi-layer security system of the Republic of Armenia. Armenia-NATO relations, based on a clear conscious common interest and necessity, have a very rich agenda”, noted Serzh Sargsyan.
Armenia continues its important contribution to the collective efforts to establish international peace and stability turning form a security consumer into a security provider, Serzh Sargsyan had added. “Armenia itself, having serious security challenges, contributes to security and stability in other parts of the world, realizing how much the world is interconnected today, and that there are no longer any security challenges for individual countries.
They belong to individual countries and everyone. I am pleased to note that as a result of the Armenia-NATO cooperation, developing its capabilities in the field of peacekeeping Armenia has expanded its geography of activities in recent years: parallel to involvement in Kosovo and Afghanistan, our troops today also participate in missions under the auspices of the UN in Lebanon and Mali. I am pleased to note that Armenia is evaluated as “active partner in NATO by NATO member states”.
The importance of NATO and Stoltenberg’s support for the mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, aimed at the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was highlighted at the meeting. “The April war and the ongoing regular shots, using heavy artillery and military equipment, indicate that the conflict is “active”, and today more than ever it is essential that the international community unite around the civilized solution assisting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for the peaceful settlement of the conflict”.
Emma GABRIELYAN
‘Aravot’
21.12.2017
