09 September 2004, 20:30
Armenian officers' participation in military exercises undecided
Official Baku has demanded that the NATO leadership should limit the number of Armenian officers who will take part in NATO's forthcoming military exercises in Baku, press secretary of the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry Metin Mirza said to the Caucasian Knot correspondent. Representatives of the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry negotiated with NATO officials in Brussels and came to the agreement that no more than three Armenian officers would be able to take part in the exercises. "The Azerbaijan side will not allow the participation of Armenian officers in these exercises as a detached company," the press secretary said. It is possible that the Armenian officers will not be able to come to the exercises at all. It depends on results of the negotiations in Brussels.
It is worth reminding that the Armenian side has already announced it received seven invitations to these exercises from the NATO leadership. And the Azerbaijan Embassy to Georgia has claimed it will not granted visas to the Armenian officers in no circumstances.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines issued a special statement yesterday, September 8. The statement reads that corresponding state agencies, in particular the Foreign Ministry, mislead the Azerbaijan community. "Azerbaijan and Armenia are CIS countries, and Armenian servicemen need no visas to arrive," reads the document.
Author: Zaur Rasulzade, CK correspondent Source: Caucasian Knot
