YEREVAN. – The organizers had included Armenia’s flag on the logo of the NATO military exercises being held in Georgia and, in addition, the Georgian defense ministry had formally announced several times that Armenia also will take part in them; but it did not, according to Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) newspaper of Armenia.

“It is apparent that the threads of the problem reach farther away, especially to the capital cities of Russia and the US.

“[Separately,] Aleksandr Novikov, head of the International Military Cooperation Department at the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced that Armenia and Serbia expressed readiness to partake in the international coalition being formed at Russia’s initiative, and whose objective is to carry out demining works in Syria.

“And on those same days, US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills gave a shocking interview saying that the US wishes to be convinced that Armenia can make sovereign decisions on which path to choose.

“Interest towards Armenia has intensified wholly because of the RF [Russian Federation] initiative to form a new coalition in Syria.

“[But] demining works in Syria pull Armenia into a war arena against the IS [Islamic State], which our country does not need at all.

“If Armenia declined from the NATO military exercises stemming from the interests of allied countries, it should not at all be a part of the new coalition in Syria, [but] no longer stemming from the interests of a third country, rather solely from its own interests,” wrote Haykakan Zhamanak.