The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia (RA) has issued a statement stating that the armed forces of the country will not participate in a NATO military exercise.

"Despite the official clarification made earlier, in response to inquiries that continue to be received from the media, we reiterate that the RA Ministry of Defense does not envisage the participation of RA Armed Forces units in the Defender Europe 21 military exercise of NATO," the defense ministry said in a statement.