From not participating in NATO exercises to Armenia's perception in the West, according to Eduard Abrahamyan

 “Why did Armenia refused to participate in the NATO “Agile Spirit 2017” exercises at the last moment? Proceeding from the newly formed regional and security conjuncture,” Eduard Abrahamyan, the research fellow at the University of Leicester says.

 “That is, Armenia refuses due to new challenges. The Armenian side concluded that there is no point in straining relations with Russia. I do not think that there has been direct pressure from the Russian side, it has been more mediated by the media, through Russian experts,” says the expert.

Abrahamyan does not consider an obstacle Turkey's or Azerbaijan's participation. Moreover, he underlines that Turkey did not participate and Azerbaijan joined at the very last moment when Armenia refused. “It is necessary for Armenia to take part in drills and it does not matter whether it is held within CSTO or NATO,” Abrahamyan emphasizes.

As to CSTO, Eduard Abrahamyan considers it a suspicious structure in terms of institutional formation and adequacy. “So Armenia should try to create an alternative so that it will not have serious problems in the case of  CSTO's elimination or inactivity,” he says.