Armenia's participation in U.S. exercises aims at knowledge, not foreign policy change - Security Council secretary

YEREVAN. April 14 (Interfax) - Armenia's participation in exercises hosted by the United States European Command does not signal a change of its foreign political course, Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said.

"Participation in the exercise brings knowledge and experience to facilitate our reforms. Speaking from experience, our practices are not effective and we need to find new mechanisms and new control methods that would be more productive," Grigoryan said in an interview with the Armenian online television channel Civilnet.

Armenia's participation in U.S. exercises does not signal a change of its foreign political course, Grigoryan said. "As for our relations with the United States, they are intensively developing. We are also seeking to build broader economic cooperation with the United States. Our cooperation in the military-political field has not reached a stage that deserves discussion. Such cooperation will take time," he said.

Grigoryan added that Armenia's membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) does not limit the development of its relations with other countries.

As reported earlier, the Armenian Defense Ministry plans to take part in two exercises hosted by the United States European Command, namely KFOR and Saber Junction. Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on January 10 that Armenia deemed the hosting of a CSTO exercise on its territory to be inexpedient this year.