Turkey’s involvement in a NATO disaster response exercise in Armenia does not mean that it is planning to open the border. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu commented on the exercises in an interview with an ANS TV correspondent.
“Many people are exaggerating this issue,” Davutoglu said.
“There are no reasons for concern. First, these exercises are not military, they are just related to action to be taken during earthquakes. As far as I know, Azerbaijan is joining this too. Our participation is related to the organization of field hospitals and we take part in these events only because Turkey is a NATO member.
“As you know, we have sent field hospitals to Pakistan as humanitarian aid. We take part in this training on humanitarian grounds, while the issue of opening borders is not on the agenda or subject to discussion.”
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in protest at Armenia’s role in the war over the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two countries agreed to open the border in protocols signed in October 2009, but the rapprochement stalled and Armenia suspended ratification of the protocols.
The Armenia-2010 joint exercise on tackling emergencies is to be held on 11-17 September. The field exercise, including a command post element, training and demonstration day, will be based on the fictitious scenario of a serious civil emergency in the town of Arzni in Armenia’s Kotayk Province.
The exercise, organized by the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre, is part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace initiative.
News.Az
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