US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN684

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000684 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN; RPM ESHULTZ 
SECDEF FOR PWATSON 
USNATO FOR BROGERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2014 
TAGS: MARR, PARM, PGOV, PREL, AM, AJ 
SUBJECT: MOD BACKTRACKS ON PROPOSED CBE COMPROMISE 
 
REF: YEREVAN 615 
 
Classified By: Charge Vivian Walker for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  The Ministry of Defense (MOD) informed DAO 
March 22 that Armenia intends to send 12 participants to the 
NATO PfP exercise Cooperative Best Effort 04 (CBE 04) in 
Baku.  The decision comes after a previous MOD pledge to send 
only 3 officers to the exercise in a compromise to the CBE 04 
impasse with Azerbaijan.  The decision to back out of the 
compromise seems to have been made by Minister of Defense 
Serzh Sargsyan.  End Summary. 
 
2. (C) The MOD told DAO March 19, and confirmed March 22, 
that Armenia would send 12 participants to CBE 04 in Baku. 
The decision backtracks from a previous pledge by Deputy 
Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian (see reftel) to send only 
three officers to the exercise.  The MOD asserted that under 
PfP rules Armenia is entitled to determine at which level it 
will participate in any given event. 
 
3. (C) We stressed to GOAM officials the importance of 
reaching a compromise with Azerbaijan, and that if the 
exercise were canceled Armenia would not escape blame. 
Deputy Defense Minister Mikhail Melkonian told DAO March 19 
that he understood U.S. concerns, and that they would be 
taken into full consideration.  The Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs Head of the NATO Department, Hrachia Tashchian, told 
us he was surprised by the MOD decision, and that the MFA had 
not been consulted.  (Note: In a subsequent conversation with 
Charge, Deputy Foreign Minister Tatoul Margarian confirmed 
that the MFA "had known nothing about this decision."  End 
Note.) 
 
4. (C) Comment. The decision to renege on the CBE 04 
compromise seems to have been made at the highest level of 
the MOD, despite Deputy Defense Minister Aghabekian's 
expressed commitment to reach a compromise on exercise 
participation.  Judging from Deputy Foreign Minster 
Margarian's reaction to the MOD decision, there appears to be 
very little desire within the GOAM to make any compromises 
with Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the murder in Budapest. 
End Comment. 
WALKER