Messages In This Digest (13 Messages)

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1.: NATO Afghan War Death Toll Continues To Rise

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 8:51 am (PDT)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iw96E5DXcajrIAQ63SkY3be_M6mQ

Agence France-Press
May 27, 2010

NATO soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

KABUL: A bomb favoured by the Taliban has killed a foreign soldier in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Thursday, bringing the number of international troops killed in the country this year to 219.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the soldier, whose nationality was not revealed, "died following an improvised explosive device (IED) attack" on Wednesday.

IEDs, the Taliban's weapon of choice, are crude bombs that are detonated by remote control or by pressure-plate mines, which explode when the device is stepped on or driven over.

An AFP tally based on that kept by the icasualties.org website puts the number of foreign troops to die in the Afghan war so far in 2010 at 219, the overwhelming majority of them American.

On Wednesday, Britain's ministry of defence said one of its troops was shot dead in a firefight with Taliban-led insurgents in Helmand province, the sixth British soldier killed in Afghanistan this month.

Fighting in Helmand and neighbouring Kandahar is intensifying as NATO, US and Afghan troops build up operations against the Taliban, which consider the region their fiefdom.

The 130,000 foreign troops in the country are to be supplemented with another 20,000 in coming months, most of them deploying to Kandahar, military planners say.
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2.: U.S.'s Anti-Missile Strategy Evokes Russian Concerns

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 8:51 am (PDT)

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/05/27/8570837.html

Voice of Russia
May 27, 2010

The US ambiguous anti-missile defense strategy
Victor Yenikeev

-[S]everal batteries of Patriot-type missiles are currently posing no threat to Russia but we know that the US also plans to deploy SM-3 anti-ballistic missiles, and this will bring serious changes to the strategic balance in Europe, challenging Russia to take adequate response measures. Washington says that with Russia or without, it will build a global anti-missile system, and this also cannot but evoke concerns in Moscow.

This is a good sign that one of the US high-ranking diplomats says that Washington is ready to cooperate with Russia on such sensitive issue.

But what is causing doubts is the announcement about analysis of potential missile risks and creation of anti-missile defense system going hand in hand. If there is no threat, what's the use of anti-missiles? Besides, certain arms are needed to repel real threats. Moreover, such kind of cooperation requires transparency and logic from both sides.

Russia is concerned over the recent deployment of the Patriot system in Poland. Moscow has criticized the move and wondered why Washington chose the area just 60 km away from the Russian border.

The US says its anti-missile shield in Europe is intended to protect against threats from Iran, but there is no need explaining that the Patriot system has nothing to do with it.

Ellen Tauscher said the Patriot system aims to intercept surface-to-surface missiles but, as we know, there are no objects of military infrastructure in the area that should be protected from anyone.

It is strange that the US has proceeded with the move despite strong objections from Russia and after the signing of the new strategic arms reduction treaty.

This all reminds of Bush`s policy, and, of course, does not increase trust between the two countries.

Of course, several batteries of Patriot-type missiles are currently posing no threat to Russia but we know that the US also plans to deploy SM-3 anti-ballistic missiles, and this will bring serious changes to the strategic balance in Europe, challenging Russia to take adequate response measures. Washington says that with Russia or without, it will build a global anti-missile system, and this also cannot but evoke concerns in Moscow.
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3.: Russia Wants Explanation On U.S. Patriot Missile Deployment

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 8:52 am (PDT)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100527/159181733.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
May 27, 2010

Russia wants explanations on deployment of U.S. Patriot missiles in Poland

Moscow: Moscow expects an explanation on the deployment of U.S. Patriot missiles near the Polish-Russian border, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

"We have, so far, been told only one thing: do not worry, this is not aimed against you," Lavrov told journalists in Moscow.

"We have already heard this in the past and we consider that the new nature of relations between Washington and Warsaw allows us to expect more detailed explanations on what is happening," he added.

The statement came after the United States opened a temporary military base near the northern Polish town of Morag, 80 km (50 miles) from the Russian border under the Supplemental Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed in December 2009.

"We do not understand completely what the need is in taking steps of a military-technical nature to create some military facilities, an infrastructure in close proximity to Russian borders," Lavrov said. "These are the questions that we ask our Polish colleagues and U.S. partners."

Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich welcomed on Wednesday the stationing of U.S. Patriot complexes on Polish soil, describing it as an important step in strengthening Poland's security.

He said the deployment of U.S. missiles would also strengthen the "strategic nature of relations between the United States and Poland."
....
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4.: NATO Chief: Macedonia Can Be Given Membership Invitation Immediately

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 9:04 am (PDT)

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n220995

Focus News Agency
May 27, 2010

Macedonia could expect and invitation for NATO membership in November

Skopje: NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will visit Skopje on June 18 to check the frame of mind of Macedonian leaders regarding the possibility for resolving the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece by November, when the NATO Summit will take place in Lisbon, the Macedonian newspaper Vreme reports, quoting diplomatic sources.

According to the source, if Skopje and Athens manage to resolve the name issue before November, Macedonia would receive an invitation for NATO membership immediately.

Rasmussen's visit is planned following the session of the Council of the European Union, during which a decision will be made whether Macedonia should be given a date for the start of the pre-accession talks with the EU.

This means that international actors are aware that the name issue cannot be solved immediately, but the two countries will be given a new deadline.
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5.: U.S. Military Chief: Space, Cyberspace Warfighting Needs 'Grow Expon

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 11:45 am (PDT)

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=59369

U.S. Department of Defense
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2010

Mullen Presses for Cyber Leadership at All Levels
By Donna Miles

-Mullen called the recent stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, which reached initial operational capability last week, "a significant step forward" that will help "get our arms around what this means."

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Cyberspace "will change how we fight" in the next 20 years, the nation's top military officer said here yesterday as he challenged leaders at all levels to understand the threats and help to posture the military to deal with them.

"I am particularly concerned about cyberspace," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Class of 2010 graduates at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Mullen called cyberspace "a global common in which we do not enjoy unmatched advantage, where international norms are the easiest to flout without consequence, and upon which our entire way of life depends."

Recognizing its strategic impact, and how it will affect military operations, Mullen called on the new officers to "stay open to new ideas" within the cyber realm and to help in shaping and leading the military as he confronts this growing challenge.

Mullen echoed that message to about 500 servicemembers at a town hall session at nearby Peterson Air Force Base, telling them he expects warfighting requirements in space and cyberspace "will grow exponentially" in the years ahead.

"We will have great opportunities and great challenges in those two areas, particularly those areas where we are not dominant [and] we don't have the advantage," he said.

Mullen called the recent stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, which reached initial operational capability last week, "a significant step forward" that will help "get our arms around what this means."

Cyberspace is far broader than intelligence and cryptologic operations, the chairman said. "It's going to affect every single leader that is here, in every single warfare area … in the future. So we are all going to have to be a whole lot smarter and better in those areas."

Gone are the days when the military could simply relegate the issue in the "Six World" – the staff elements responsible for command, control, communications and computer systems, he told the group. "Leaders can no longer do that," he said. "Leaders have to know more about it. Leaders have to get engaged."

Leaders at all levels need to understand the issues and the threat, he told reporters following the session. "They have to be trained in it, and they have to make sure their people are prepared in it," he said. "So that's what I am encouraging them to do with that. Don't just turn it over to the chief or turn it over to the sergeant major."

"We can't do it," he said. "It's too lethal and too potent, and there are adversaries in the cyber world that we don't understand yet."
....
"It's pretty scary stuff," he said of the cyber threat. "And it needs to continue to be addressed very, very rapidly."
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6.: U.S. Consolidates Middle East Interceptor Missile System

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 6:01 pm (PDT)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64Q6U120100527?type=politicsNews

Reuters
May 27, 2010

U.S. plans for Middle East missile shield take shape
Adam Entous and Jim Wolf

-U.S. officials want the new radar in the Gulf to be positioned in a location that would allow it to work with the AN/TPY-2 radar in southern Israel, which is operated by U.S. personnel. Built by Raytheon Co, the system locks on to targets in their boost, midcourse and terminal phases.

[U.S. Extends Missile Buildup From Poland And Taiwan To Persian Gulf
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/u-s-extends-missile-buildup-from-poland-and-taiwan-to-persian-gulf

Israel: Forging NATO Missile Shield, Rehearsing War With Iran
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/israel-forging-nato-missile-shield-rehearsing-war-with-iran]

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is working toward a Middle East missile defense that envisions adding an advanced radar site in a Gulf state to one already in Israel...U.S. officials said.

The Obama administration has been quietly helping Arab states boost their missile defenses with the goal of tying them into one system. The process could take two or three more years, officials said.

The emerging Middle East plan resembles the "phased adaptive approach" President Barack Obama rolled out with much fanfare last September to integrate sea- and land-based missile defenses in and around U.S. NATO allies in Europe.

The Middle East buildup has been played down because of Arab sensitivities about U.S. military involvement and skittishness about any military cooperation with Israel, where the United States based a high-powered X-Band radar in 2008 to bolster Israel's missile defenses.

U.S. military strategists believe a second high-powered AN/TPY-2 transportable radar in a Gulf state would boost the capabilities of the proposed regional missile umbrella. A candidate country to host it has not yet stepped forward.

U.S. officials want the new radar in the Gulf to be positioned in a location that would allow it to work with the AN/TPY-2 radar in southern Israel, which is operated by U.S. personnel. Built by Raytheon Co, the system locks on to targets in their boost, midcourse and terminal phases.

"The idea (of a regional security umbrella) has been out there for a while but the specific pieces are now starting to fall into place," a military official said.

A diplomat from the region called the approach "plug and play" - first the building blocks of the system are put in place, then they are linked together and turned on.

The only other deployed AN/TPY-2 system was set up in 2006 in Shariki, Japan....

ACCELERATED BUILDUP

The missile defense buildup in Gulf states began under former President George W. Bush. It has accelerated under Obama, who is pushing for a new round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. Iran says its program is to generate electricity.

Officials said linking two X-Band radar sites in the Middle East with Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, anti-missile systems was more a political hurdle than a technical one. At issue, among other things, is cooperation among Arab states that have a long history of mistrust.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton first proposed that Washington bring Middle Eastern nations under what she called a security "umbrella"....

Kenneth Katzman, an expert on regional security issues, said Gulf states had boosted their ability to operate jointly with the Pentagon on increasingly advanced systems.

"This has improved the prospects for implementing a long-standing vision of a potential region-wide missile defense system," said Katzman of the Congressional Research Service.

The deployments include expanded land-based Patriot defensive missile installations in Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, but the numbers are expected to grow, officials said.

Officials said the AN/TPY-2 system worked best when the installations were arrayed along an arc around the perceived threat area. It is unclear which Gulf state might agree to host a second regional X-Band radar, although three or four are viewed as potential candidates.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress in September 2008 of a proposed sale of THAAD units worth up to $7 billion to the United Arab Emirates. The AN/TPY-2 may be configured as part of the THAAD system.

The House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee approved last week $65 million as a kind of down-payment on more AN/TPY-2 radars. The provision was added to its version of a 2011 defense bill being debated by the full House.

COOPERATION IMPROVES

Since the X-Band radar site at Israel's Nevatim air base in the Negev desert is said to be staffed by U.S. forces, rather than Israelis, U.S. officials say a link-up may be acceptable to Arabs who might otherwise balk at cooperating with the Jewish state against Iran's Islamic authorities.

The two main radar arrays would mesh other sensors and weapons systems like the Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile. That would let each country detect Iranian missiles at the same time and then choose which systems to go after them, officials said.

The shared early warning system could be integrated with U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defense system in offshore waters.
....
Israel is already on track to mesh more closely into the U.S. antimissile bulwark, military officials say.

Obama's approach is seen as good news for Raytheon, the world's biggest missile maker, and Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier. They build much of the hardware on which the new systems rely.

(Editing by Patricia Wilson and Peter Cooney)
===========================
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7.: PGS: U.S. Scramjet-Powered Missile Breaks Mach 6 Record

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 6:06 pm (PDT)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0527/Scramjet-powered-X-51A-Waverider-missile-breaks-Mach-6-record

Christian Science Monitor
May 27, 2010

Scramjet-powered X-51A Waverider missile breaks Mach 6 record

[Prompt Global Strike: World Military Superiority Without Nuclear Weapons
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/prompt-global-strike-world-military-superiority-without-nuclear-weapons ]

On Wednesday morning, a US Air Force X-51A Waverider missile sustained speeds of Mach 6 for more than 200 seconds, the US Air Force has announced. The X-51A Waverider, which was launched over the southern California coast, is powered by next-gen scramjet technology.
By Matthew Shaer

The US Air Force has confirmed that its X-51A Waverider cruise missile – a next-generation vehicle powered by scramjet technology – hit speeds of Mach 6 during a test run over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday morning. According to the Air Force, the X-51A Waverider was carried by a B-52 aircraft to an altitude of 50,000 feet, and launched somewhere off the southern California coast.

The X-51A Waverider reportedly sustained a Mach 6 speed for approximately 200 seconds, before "a vehicle anomaly occurred and the flight was terminated." Still, the 200 seconds at Mach 6 was enough to beat the previous scramjet record of 12 seconds. In an interview with the Associated Press, Charlie Brink, an X-51A program manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory, called the flight historic.

"We are ecstatic to have accomplished many of the X-51A test points during its first hypersonic mission," Brink said. "We equate this leap in engine technology as equivalent to the post-World War II jump from propeller-driven aircraft to jet engines." A USAF source interviewed by Wired magazine agreed, noting "some hitches at the end of flight," but calling the Waverider test "a magnificent first flight."

Pratt and Whitney, which designed the scramjet engine on the Waverider described the launch from the B-52 thusly:

A solid rocket booster fired and propelled the cruiser to greater than Mach 4.5, creating the supersonic environment necessary to operate the engine. The booster was then jettisoned and the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine ignited, initially on gaseous ethylene fuel. Next the engine transitioned to JP-7 jet fuel, the same fuel once carried by the SR-71 Blackbird before its retirement.

The X-51A program is the product of a partnership between the USAF, Pratt and Whitney, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), NASA, and the Boeing Company. According to Pratt and Whitney, the scramjet technology on the X-51A could be used in a range of scenarios, including defense and space flight.
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8.: NATO: Global Military Interventions Good For Economic Growth

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 6:18 pm (PDT)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64Q0LW20100527

Reuters
May 27, 2010

NATO says security key to economic growth: report

[Thousand Deadly Threats: Third Millennium NATO, Western Businesses Collude On New Global Doctrine
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/thousand-deadly-threats-third-millennium-nato-western-businesses-collude-on-new-global-doctrine ]

-"If cuts are made primarily within the more stationary parts of our military and if new investments are directed toward more flexible and more mobile and more modern armed forces, then budgetary constraints could be turned into something positive."

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was quoted on Thursday as saying economic growth was dependent on global security and that governments should be aware of this when cutting defense budgets.

Rasmussen said in an interview with Britain's Times newspaper that pressure on governments to reduce budget deficits would undoubtedly lead to cutbacks in defense spending but urged NATO countries not to undermine security.

"All governments should be aware of the long-term impact of too deep cuts in defense budgets because we know from experience that economic growth is very much dependent on a secure international environment," said Rasmussen.

"We know that instability and insecurity hamper economic growth. So if we make too deep cuts in defense budgets it might have a long-term negative impact on economic growth," he said.

Rasmussen said it was important to ensure limited budgets concentrated on making armed forces capable of adapting to the demands of modern warfare.

"If cuts are made primarily within the more stationary parts of our military and if new investments are directed toward more flexible and more mobile and more modern armed forces, then budgetary constraints could be turned into something positive," he said.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Ralph Gowling)

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9.: Hungary: New NATO Member States Train For Afghan War

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 6:49 pm (PDT)

http://www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/internationa-7/?cHash=9ea9f903ca

Hungarian News Agency
May 27, 2010

International military exercise under way in Hungary

A large-scale international military exercise codenamed "Clever Ferret 2010" is under way in Hungary with the involvement of nearly 2,400 Hungarian, Italian and Slovenian soldiers, Gen. Tibor Benko said at Hajmasker in western Hungary on Tuesday.

The largest exercise of the Hungarian armed forces this year aims to help preparations for another successful deployment in Afghanistan, he said.

The 600 combat weapons involved include Hungary's Gripen fighter jets and Italy's fighter bombers, he said.
....
Gen. Marcello Bellacicco, MLF's Italian commander, said that Clever Ferret exercises are held alternately in the three countries.

The current exercise hosted by Hungary started on May 17 and will end on June 6.

The first "Clever Ferret" exercise in Hungary was held back in 2003 and served preparations for the KFOR mission.
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10.: Pentagon Spends $1 Million On Road Work For Baltic War Games

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 6:54 pm (PDT)

http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/transport/?doc=27363

Baltic Course
May 26, 2010

U.S. military spends USD one million on roadworks in Varve
Alla Petrova

Riga: Around USD one million (LVL 578,340) has been spent so far on road construction and repair works at the Varve Dune in the Venspils Region in preparation for the forthcoming "Baltops" military training exercise.

This is according to information received by the Defense Ministry from representatives of the U.S. military in Europe, the business portal Nozare.lv was told by Defense Ministry spokeswoman Dace Ankipane.

According to the U.S. military brigade which is carrying out the works, it has so far spent USD 600,000 (LVL 347,000) on materials for road works, while USD 400,000 (LVL 231,360) has been spent on food supplies and fuel, writes LETA.

Defense Minister Imants Liegis (Civic Union) indicated that the road construction and repairs are part of the preparations for the military exercise. As a result, the U.S. military is carrying out the entire job itself, with observation by Latvian specialists and participation by Latvian military engineers at the preparatory stage.
....
"At present, ***attempts which are difficult to explain, are being made against the successful staging of this training exercise and this investment by our ally in Latvia's security***," said the minister, adding that this was detrimental to "the strengthening of our country's security."

The minister's comments come after a meeting of the coalition council on May 24 at which representatives of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) requested that Liegis provide a report on the road construction at the Varve Dune ahead of June's NATO military training exercise, as well as on the promised financial benefit to the country from the exercise, LETA was informed by the ZZS's Saeima group.
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11.: Russian Navy Has Own Theory On South Korean Ship Sinking

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 6:56 pm (PDT)

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=7&id=167182

Interfax-Military
May 27, 2010

Russian Navy has own theory on S. Korean ship sinking

MOSCOW: Russian Navy experts have been sent to South Korea to double-check the findings of an international investigation into the sinking of the Cheonan warship, a source from the Russian Navy's Main Staff told Interfax on Thursday. "The decision to send navy specialists to South Korea was unexpected to us, but it did not take us by surprise. The Main Staff decided to send a group of officers from the international military cooperation department as part of a delegation so as to examine all the circumstances of the incident on the spot," he said.

The Russian Navy's Main Staff has followed the events in the Yellow Sea from the very start and has its own theory of the incident, the source said.

He regretted that Russian specialists were not included in an international commission investigating the incident.

"With Russian specialists onboard, the results of the investigation into the incident could have been fuller and more impartial," he said.

The international investigation probing the sinking of the Cheonan corvette in the Yellow Sea on March 26, concluded that it was attacked by a North Korea torpedo, leaving 46 sailors dead. Pyongyang has denied any involvement and has severed all ties with the South in response to the allegation.
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12.: Bulgaria: U.S. Begins Month-Long Joint Special Forces Exercises

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" r_rozoff@yahoo.com r_rozoff

Thu May 27, 2010 7:03 pm (PDT)

http://www.sofiaecho.com/2010/05/26/906940_joint-training-of-us-and-bulgarian-special-forces-units-under-way

Sofia Echo
May 26, 2010

Joint training of US and Bulgarian special forces units under way

A joint training exercise between Bulgarian special military units and a formation from the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) will take place from May 25 to June 26 near Plovdiv and Varna, Bulgarian National Radio said on May 26 2010.

The training exercise is part of the Joint Bulgarian-American training plan for 2010. Apart from tactical combat manoeuvres, the solders will also train in sea navigation and actions against pirates, the report said.

The USSOCOM is the Unified Combatant Command entrusted with overseeing the various special operations commands (SOC or SOCOM) within the US Army, Air Force, US Navy and Marine Corps.

This amalgamation of special forces units conducts a range of covert and clandestine missions, such as unconventional warfare, foreign internal defence, special reconnaissance, psychological operations, civil affairs, direct action and counter-terrorism, as well as war on drugs operations.
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13.: Bilateral interest concerning Armenia-NATO cooperation

Posted by: "Nazar" muratoglunazar@yahoo.com muratoglunazar

Thu May 27, 2010 7:36 pm (PDT)

Bilateral interest concerning Armenia-NATO cooperation.

Lragir.am
26/05/10

Serge Sargsyan, within the frameworks of his working visit to the
Kingdom of Belgium, on May 25, met with the NATO Secretary General
Andres Fog Rasmussen.

The collocutors discussed issues of bilateral interest concerning
Armenia-NATO cooperation.

The press service of the president reports that the sides pointed
out with satisfaction the progress in the Armenia-NATO relationship
during the last decade. Serge Sargsyan said that Armenia will go on its
collaboration with its NATO allies in all the spheres such us fight
against international terrorism, frontier defense and management,
peacekeeping mission etc.

Serge Sargsyan underlined the assistance of the Alliance in the
carrying out reforms in the Armenian armed forces. Serge Sargsyan noted
that Turkey dictated preconditions and violated the dates losing our
trust in it as a negotiation partner.

The collocutors exchanged views on the present stage of the settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as well as on he suspended process of
the Armenian and Turkish reconciliation.

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