Armenia Not Raising the Issue of Membership with NATO: MFA

Relations between Armenia and NATO are a high-level partnership, said RA Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arman Kirakosyan in an interview published on the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Asked whether Armenia’s membership in the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation) will impede the deepening of NATO-Armenia relations, Kirakosyan said that won’t be the case.

“We’re not raising the issue of membership because the problem lies in reform. CIS and CSTO member states likewise have similar frameworks for cooperation with NATO. This means that NATO today is regarded as a structure whose experience in applying advanced technology, its theoretical-methodological basis for building the army, as well as in reforming the army as a whole, are beneficial not only for us, but also for Russia and the rest of the CIS member states and the CSTO.

“Thus, in political terms, we have a strategic alliance with Russia and we are a member of a military-strategic organization such as the CSTO. The aim of our relations with NATO is a partnership, which should facilitate the process of reforms in Armenia.

“As for outlooks, I think that the only outlook is fulfillment of reforms and reaching the standards which I spoke about. These two-year programs have a progressive tendency. Implementing such programs will help us achieve our goals,” he said.