Moldova will not deploy military troops for the exercises Cooperative Longbow/Lancer, due to be held in Georgia on 6 May-1 June within the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) Program, the official Moldpres news agency reported on Wednesday citing sources from the Defense Ministry.
According to the sources, the 2009 plan sees the participation of Moldovan servicemen in exercises for pilots, doctors and intercommunication military held within the PfP. The goal of all the exercises is to overcome emergencies caused by technical and natural factors, as well as participation in multinational peacekeeping operations.
Moldova joined the Partnership for Peace program in 1994, and became the 12th signatory state of the framework document. Presently, 22 countries which are not NATO members, including the neutral ones -- Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden and Ireland -- participate in the PfP.
NATO will conduct exercises Cooperative Longbow/Lancer during the period 6 May to 1 June 2009 in Georgia. Planning for these exercises began in spring 2008 with the aim of improving interoperability between NATO and partner countries, within the framework of Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative programs.
Nations to participate in the exercises include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Spain, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.
Source: Xinhua
