BAKU (News.az)—Azerbaijan will not participate in upcoming NATO disaster response exercises to be organized in Armenia from September 11-17, an Azeri Defense Ministry spokesperson told a press conference on Friday.
“We categorically declare that our servicemen will not participate in NATO military exercises in Armenia,” the spokesman said, commenting on a statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu given to the media on Thursday that Azerbaijan would be participating in the NATO drills.
Turkey, however, will participate in the six day disaster exercise being organized by the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center as part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace initiative.
Azerbaijan’s reasons for not participating in the NATO drills “are clear,” the Defense Ministry spokesman said. ‘We cannot be represented in the activities in the country that occupies Azerbaijani lands.”
