Movses Hakobyan: there was no pressure from CSTO on Armenia on the  issue of participation NATO trainings 

Founder of the Armenian Institute of International Affairs and Security Stepan Safaryan in his  interview to  ArmInfo discusses the latest geopolitical trends around Armenia. He shares the most likely versions of the prospects for Armenia's relations with the European Union, the situation surrounding the Karabakh settlement. Comments on the latest trends in the domestic political arena of Armenia. 

ArmInfo."Our armed forces participate in a number of exercises every year, including in the events of the CSTO, and in some we do not have time to participate,"  Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said on September 13 from the rostrum  of the National Assembly of Armenia.

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. 

ArmInfo.Armenia is an independent state, and can independently decide in which exercises to participate, and in which there is not. A spokesman for the ARF  Dashnaktsutyun party bureau Hrant Margaryan commented on the refusal  of Armenia to participate in the NATO exercises in Georgia.

ArmInfo.There is no political implication in the non- participation of the Armenian armed forces in the multinational military exercises of NATO Agile Spirit  2017. Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Artak Zakaryan stated this in  a conversation with journalists.

ArmInfo. The Armenian delegation headed by the Chief of the Air Defense Forces of Armed Forces, Colonel Armen Vardanyan will take part in the meeting of the  Air Defense Coordination Committee under the Council of CIS Defense  Ministers and in the joint trainings "Combat Commonwealth 2017" in  Moscow and Astrakhan from September 4 to 6.