ArmInfo. Armenian servicemen attended the NATO courses at the Sachkhere mountain training school in Imereti.

ArmInfo. As part of his working visit to France, on January 23, President Serzh Sargsyan met with the Chairman of the France-Armenia Friendship Group of the National Assembly of France Jacques Marilossian, Chairman of the Senate-France-Armenia Friendship Group Gilbert-Luc Dvinazi, and members of these parliamentary groups. As the press service of the president reports, during the meeting, Sargsyan and the chairman of the France- Armenia friendship group Jacques Marilossian made a speech. The Armenian President noted that for him these meetings are meetings with real friends who had their contribution to the strengthening of the Armenian-French friendship. "We are grateful that, since we gained independence, you are always with us and support Armenia on important issues, including the promotion of democracy and reforms, in solving the Artsakh problem," Sargsyan said. The president said that the Armenian-French friendship groups cooperate in different structures, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, NATO and the OSCE. The head of the Armenian state also touched upon important events of the past year, noting in particular that in 2017 a new president was elected in France, and parliamentary elections took place in Armenia and the RA passes to a new form of government, as a result of which democracy will grow in the country. In addition, it was in 2017 that the Agreement on the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership between Armenia and the EU was signed. As for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as Serzh Sargsyan noted, Armenia sees the settlement of this issue exclusively in a peaceful manner, taking into account the right of the people of Artsakh to self- determination. "In this regard, we very much appreciate our reliable partner, France, as well as the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, aimed at a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and I attach great importance to the visits of the French parliamentarians in Artsakh, as they tell the French public about the state of affairs in the NKR "Following your example, many legislators already visit Nagorno-Karabakh, which, of course, gives positive results," the RA President stated. The president also said that in August 178, the 17th summit of francophone countries "Living Together" will be held in the Armenian capital. Sargsyan expressed hope that French colleagues will also visit this summit and will continue to visit Armenia and Artsakh to learn about the experience of these two countries and disseminate objective information. "I hope that you will continue to deepen effective cooperation with your Armenian counterparts," the head of the Armenian state concluded. In his turn, the chairman of the France-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group Jacques Marilosian stated that the RA and France are linked by the centuries-old friendship. During the Armenian Genocide, France became the second home for many refugees. Jacques Marilossian noted that the economic component is very important in the friendly relations between the two countries. "We are going to organize a visit of the delegation of French MPs to Armenia in June, but the program of our visit is still under development, but we intend to include also those responsible for higher education in the delegation." We would also like to share our experience with Armenian parliamentarians.

ArmInfo. Ankara's decision to acquire the latest Russian S-400 air defense systems is proof of Turkey's slow drift from NATO. Anatoly Tsyganok, director of the Military Forecasting Center of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis (Moscow), expressed this opinion to ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. Ankara is quite capable of abandoning the Russian S- 400 systems not only under the pressure of NATO, in particular the United States, but also having  achieved the results of its own policy of blackmail. Such an opinion  was expressed by ArmInfo director of the Institute of Oriental  Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia Ruben  Safrastyan.

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ArmInfo. Membership in the CSTO allows Armenia to increase political pressure on Azerbaijan, which, together with the development of the Armed Forces, is the most  important guarantee not for the resumption of the war. ArmInfo ex-defense minister, lieutenant-general Vagarshak Harutyunyan expressed similar opinion to ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.More than half the population Armenia - 54% and 36% of Georgia's citizens are linked by prospects political and economic development of the country with  close interaction with the Eurasian Economic Union and the European  Union. These are the results of the study "Caucasian barometer-2017",  conducted by the Caucasian Research Resource Center-Armenia.

ArmInfo. Realizing the impossibility of staying in the current state and in the future,  Armenia has neither much, nor little, to become a partner of the United States, one of the initiators and leaders of the Karabakh movement, the well-known analyst Igor Muradyan, is convinced.

ArmInfo. Armenia-NATO cooperation is based on the interests of both sides. This was  announced at a joint briefing with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan by NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller.

ArmInfo.he settlement of the Karabakh conflict will positively affect the situation in the South Caucasus region. The Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Rose  Gottemoeller, announced this in Yerevan.

ArmInfo.Recognition by the United States of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel for Armenia is a new challenge for which Yerevan should respond with calls for peace.   Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Yerevan State University Ruben Melkonyan expressed opinion ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.Deputy General Secretary of NATO Rose Gottemoeller on December 18 will visit Armenia, on December 13 at a press conference in Yerevan dedicated to NATO week in Armenia, stated deputy head of the office on relations with NATO in Southern Caucasus Rosaria Puglisi. According to her, this visit is a clear example of the existence of  high-level cooperation between Armenia and NATO.

ArmInfo. NATO sees no challenges in relations with Armenia. This December 13 in Yerevan at a press conference on the beginning of the week of NATO in Armenia,  said Deputy Head of the NATO Liaison Office in the South Caucasus, Rosaria Puglisi.

ArmInfo. The Defense College of the North Atlantic Alliance issued a report on the Russian military presence in the South Caucasus and the troops in Armenia.

ArmInfo. NATO will assist Armenia in the dismantlement of obsolete military equipment. The agreement with the Alliance, signed on July 14, 2017 in Luxembourg  and Brussels, was ratified at a meeting of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on December 6.

ArmInfo."I do not think that the CSTO is just a military- political issue, it's just a big  integration policy, by and large, ensuring security in our common space in all its senses and dimensions - anti-terrorist, anti-drug, anti-crime." This was in an interview with RTR- Belarus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said when asked whether the CSTO, which celebrates its already long anniversary, has become an alternative and a counterweight to NATO in the post-Soviet space.

ArmInfo.No reasons to have expectations for  real deterioration of Turkey's relations with the West, in particular, with NATO, as well as Ankara's participation in  the Karabakh settlement in the foreseeable future.  This opinion was  voiced by the leading research associate of the Institute of World  Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of  Sciences Viktor Nadein-Rayevsky.

ArmInfo.Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on External Relations Armen Ashotyan during the meeting with the Deputy Head of the NATO Liaison Office in the South Caucasus, Rosaria Pulizi, stressed the importance of NATO-Armenia  cooperation, and in this context the role of parliamentary diplomacy.

ArmInfo. The signing of Armenia-EU framework agreement is by no means the result of Yerevan's "second attempt", as the document on "comprehensive and expanded  partnership" for the creation of a free trade zone does not provide  for. Such an opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by Russian analyst  Sergei Markedonov

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