YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. The regular NATO week has kicked off in Armenia on March 11 and is scheduled to end on March 15.

The events on the sidelines of the NATO week launched with the joint press conference of Head of the Arms Control and International Security Department of Armenia’s foreign ministry, Ambassador Armen Yedigaryan, German Ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kiesler and Head of the NATO Liaison Office in the South Caucasus Rosaria Puglisi.

During a press conference Ambassador Armen Yedigaryan said the dates for holding the NATO week have changed, but this didn’t damage the bilateral cooperation.

“The NATO week was scheduled to take place in December 2018, but taking into account the domestic political developments, we made a decision to hold it after the snap parliamentary elections of Armenia. Our cooperation continues developing at two main formats – Individual Partnership Action Plan and Armenia-NATO Planning and Review Process”, Yedigaryan said.

German Ambassador to Armenia noted that the Armenian government shows its clear commitment towards the cooperation with the NATO.

“I want to express my special gratitude over the fact that the aforementioned two directions are clearly stated in the government’s action plan. This clearly shows Armenia’s determination towards the cooperation with the NATO”, Matthias Kiesler said.

Head of the defense policy department at the ministry of defense of Armenia Levon Ayvazyan said Armenia continues the cooperation with the NATO also in the field of defense reforms.

“In the defense field we continue the active dialogue within the NATO. The defense minister and the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces continue participating in such-format sessions, discussing various issues. We continue the partnership with the NATO also in the field of defense reforms. We have several dozen directions, goals where NATO provides us consulting, expert support and assists us on implementing reforms at different areas of the defense field”, Ayvazyan said.

Head of the NATO Liaison Office in the South Caucasus Rosaria Puglisi stated that these events are important especially in terms of providing deeper information about the NATO to the public.

“The NATO week has become a tradition. We call it a public diplomacy event. Through it we are trying to inform the general public about the rich partnering relations of NATO and Armenia. The velvet revolution of last year was a very powerful signal that the people of Armenia are going to assume the responsibility of ongoing developments in the country. The responsibility should be based on information. That is the reason we want you to be fully informed about what is happening within the NATO”, Rosaria Puglisi said.

The previous NATO week in Armenia was held in December 2017.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan