YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–President Robert Kocharian received a delegation led by Deputy Commander of the US United Headquarters–General Mayers Wednesday.
The president stated that Armenia is ready to expand military cooperation. He expressed confidence that combined efforts of the Armenian and US military departmen’s will promote increased cooperation.
General Mayers pointed out that with small steps–bilateral cooperation is developing. He also pointed out that the delegation’s visit is testimony to the great importance attached by the American side to the development of bilateral cooperation. The US administration is interested in Armenia’s being a strong–democratic and prosperous country and is willing to intensify efforts aimed at establishing peace–security and stability in the region–the Pentagon’s representative said.
The sides also discussed prospects for the Armenia-NATO cooperation–maintenance of peace–security and stability in the region as well as the Karabakh settlement. General Mayers pointed out the importance of Armenia’s participation in NATO’s program "Partnership for Peace".
As regards to the Karabakh settlement–the members of the US delegation pointed out that no foreign force may dictate the settlement of the conflict. The task of the OSCE Minsk Group’s chairmen is assisting the conflicting parties and promoting the continuation of the dialogue between the Armenian and Azeri presidents.
In his turn–President Kocharian pointed out that he is optimistic about the conflict settlement–as the process has taken a peaceful course–and the peace is gradually getting more and more stable–while the possibility of resumption of hostilities is getting slimmer.