Considering effective NATO-Armenia cooperation, RA President Serzh Sargsyan has been invited to a NATO Summit in Lisbon this November, Robert Simmons, NATO's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, told a press conference in Yerevan.

The Summit will decide on its further strategy, and Armenia can present its position. Simmons pointed out that the exercises held in Armenia under the NATO Individual Partnership program are an example of Armenia-NATO cooperation. He thanked Armenia for its contribution to the peacemaking mission in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Armenia’s contribution to the mission was considerable, taking into account the country’s area, he said. The NATO official called on all the states to contribute to NATO peacemaking operations. He singled out Azerbaijan, which refused its airspace to a NATO plane carrying Armenian peacemakers from Afghanistan.

The third stage of the Individual Partnership program with Armenia is under preparation. The Ministry of Defense has prepared its part of the document. After everything is ready, NATO will consider the package and express its opinion, Simmons said.

Speaking of NATO expansion toward the post-Soviet states, Simmons stressed that the NATO decision on the membership on Georgia and Ukraine made in Bucharest remains in force. Georgia did not change its policy, but Ukraine revised the decision. NATO respects all the countries’ positions, Simmons said.