U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch welcomes deepening of NATO-Armenia relations in all fields. Talking to the journalists about development of Armenia-NATO ties, the diplomat recalled Armenia’s cooperation with the alliance has nearly 20 years’ history.

She also stressed Armenia has been participating in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program since 2004. Armenian peacekeepers help maintain peace and stability in Kosovo, participated in the peacekeeping mission in Iraq, and now in Afghanistan, the U.S. envoy added.

Last autumn field exercise “Armenia 2010”allowed NATO and partner countries to practice disaster response mechanisms and capabilities and to enhance co-operation in emergency situations. It brought together representatives of 30 member states and NATO partners. The Ambassador stressed importance of such events in the context of recent tragic events in Japan.