War games to begin in Armenia today

The Cooperative Best Effort-2003 multi-national war games are to get underway in Armenia June 16. This exercise is taking place within the framework of the Partnership For Peace program.

Talking to reporters, officials at the military-exercise press center noted that such war games will involve about 400 soldiers from 19 countries, including those from eight NATO countries, i.e. Canada, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Great Britain and the United States, as well as soldiers from 11 partner countries, such as Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Uzbekistan.

Russia, which has never taken part in such NATO war games before, will be represented by a group of HQ officers and a mechanized-infantry squad that is included in the multi-national force.

Armenia's Defense Minister Serge Sarkisyan made a statement the other day, noting that Armenian military units wanted to display their impressive combat-training standards during the exercise.

The exercise will take place June 16-26 at the Armenian Defense Ministry's Vazgen Sarkisyan military institute. Those taking part in it will conduct a simulated peace-keeping operation, also streamlining interaction between NATO units and partner-country units.