Ministry of Defense: Armenia did not initially plan to participate in  NATO exercises Agile Spirit 2017

ArmInfo.Speculations about Armenia's refusal to participate at the last moment in NATO's Agile Spirit 2017 exercise are inappropriate. This is stated in the  statement of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, received in ArmInfo. 

"Taking into account that in a number of mass media the information  that Armenia at the last moment refused to participate in the  exercises that started in Georgia on September 3, the Ministry of  Defense of Armenia states that representatives of the Defense  Ministry, the Armed Forces and the General Staff regularly take part  in multinational exercises abroad, and at negotiations and  conferences on their planning. 

The format of participation of the Armenian Armed Forces in the  exercises is determined based on the planned needs of the  international cooperation of the defense department. Taking into  account the fact that the exercises conducted in Georgia from this  point of view do not have priority for the RA Armed Forces, it was  initially decided not to participate in them and the application for  participation in them was not presented. Speculations about Armenia's  refusal to participate in the exercises at the last moment are  inappropriate, "the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It should be noted that NATO exercises Agile Spirit 2017 are held in  Georgia from 3 to 11 September. As reported by the Defense Ministry  of Georgia, Armenia refused participation in the exercises at the  very last moment. Earlier it was reported that Armenia had given its  consent to participate in the exercises in NATO.  Georgian Defense  Ministry spokesman Georgi Kajarava said that it was a surprise to  them that Armenia refused to participate in the exercises.

The multinational exercise Agile Spirit 2017 is organized by the  Georgian Armed Forces and the US Marine Corps. The aim of the  exercise is to increase readiness for joint operations within NATO  forces or to respond to crises, as well as to improve interaction at  the tactical level between units of the participating countries, to  merge infantry and mechanized units, and to improve mutual  cooperation with the United States and partner countries. The  exercises are attended by the United States, Georgia, Bulgaria,  Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Romania. Expert circles tend to believe that  Yerevan's decision is conditioned by pressure from Moscow. It should  be noted that a similar situation was recorded in 2009, when Armenia  also gave its consent to participate in NATO exercises, but refused  at the very last moment.