Georgia’s Defense Minister Levan Izoria expressed hope that Armenia will continue to participate in NATO-led military exercises held in his country each year as he visited Yerevan on Thursday. Azatutyun reports.
Izoria met with his Armenian counterpart Davit Tonoyan for talks which he described as productive.
Both men called for closer military ties between the two neighboring states at a joint news conference held after the meeting. They also signed a plan of joint activities by their ministries for this year.
“I agree with Mr. Izoria on the need to expand our cooperation in the area of defense and to include new elements in it,” said Tonoyan. He cited “millennia-old friendship between the two peoples” in that context.
Izoria voiced appreciation for the participation of Armenian army officers in the “Noble Partner 2018” exercise held near Tbilisi in August. “And I hope that the Armenian side will continue to be actively involved in such exercises held in Georgia under the NATO aegis,” he said.
The “Noble Partner” drills involved 3,000 soldiers from Georgia, the United States and a dozen other nations, including Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The Armenian military did not participate in another NATO-led exercise, codenamed “Agile Spirit,” which took place elsewhere in Georgia in September.
Yerevan controversially dropped out of the previous “Agile Spirit” war games held in 2017. Armenian officials denied that the decision was made under pressure from Russia, Armenia’s main military ally. Moscow has repeatedly denounced the annual exercises organized by NATO or the U.S. military in Georgia.