President Serzh Sargsyan announced late that he will not attend the upcoming NATO summit in Lisbon because of the alliance’s plans to uphold Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Sargsyan’s spokesman Armen Arzumanyan said a draft resolution due to be adopted at the weekend summit calls for solutions to the ethnic disputes in the South Caucasus reflecting only the principle of territorial integrity. In a written statement, Arzumanyan warned that this “unacceptable” wording would complicate the Karabakh peace process “especially against the backdrop of the recent unprecedented rise in Azerbaijan’s military spending and its leaders’ Armenophobic rhetoric.” “Given this concern, the president of the Republic of Armenia has decided not to depart to Lisbon,” he said, adding that Armenia will be represented at the summit by its defense and foreign ministers. In Arzumanyan’s words, Yerevan remains committed stepping up cooperation with NATO and considers that one of the “components” of its national security strategy. “We highly appreciate NATO’s contribution to the process of reforming the Armenian armed forces,” said the presidential press secretary. NATO did not immediately react to the dramatic move. Its draft resolution strongly opposed by Yerevan has not been officially publicized yet. The meeting will host the ministers of foreign affairs and defense.
