Kocharian: Armenia Not Going to Join NATO

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «Armenia is not going to join the NATO,» Armenian President Robert Kocharian said, when answering a question of the Golos Armenii. He stated it in response to the newspaper’s request to comment on Armenian Speaker Artur Baghdassaryan’s statement to the Frankfurter Allgemaine that “EU and NATO are the future of Armenia” and “Russia should not be on the way to the Europe.” Commenting on the statement Kocharian said, “Armenia’s foreign policy line remains unchanged. Within the NATO-Armenia Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) our country is expanding the cooperation with the North-Atlantic Alliance, as a key European security organization. We expect effective cooperation, especially in reform of the Armed Forces and peacekeeping. However, Armenia is not going to join the NATO. Participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the high level of military and technical cooperation with Russia properly solve security issues.” In the words of the Armenian leader, today Armenia prepares to closer cooperation with the EU within the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), however does not formulate the question of accession to the EU. «Euro-Atlantic ambitions of Armenia are balanced, realistic, are positively taken by European structures and do not form problems in relations with Russia. We declare the same position in Moscow, Brussels and Washington,» the Armenian President said.