YEREVAN. – Armenia did not officially say it will partake in the NATO military exercises in Georgia.  

The Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia, Artak Zakaryan, told the above-said to reporters at a conference on Monday.

In his words, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia had not confirmed that the country would definitely take part in these military drills.

“I’m unable to say why Armenia was noted on the list of [its] participants,” Zakaryan stated. “The Armed Forces of Armenia has never officially said it will take part in those military exercises. There always are planning reviews in the activities of the Armed Forces.”

The Armenian deputy defense minister expressed a conviction, however, that there will be no problems due to Armenia’s not participating in these NATO maneuvers.

“NATO has been and will continue to be our [Armenia’s] partner,” he added. “Armenia is closely cooperating with NATO for a very long time (…), and not participating—or participating—in an event here should not be considered bizarre.”

Also, the deputy minister of defense stressed that Armenia’s politico-military diplomacy fully complies with its foreign policy, and that it makes fully confident decisions in its actions.   

As reported earlier, Armenia is not taking part in NATO’s Agile Spirit 2017 military exercises, which kicked off on September 3, in Georgia.