YEREVAN. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Armenia will not attend the 29th International Economic Forum in Poland in early September, the country's Foreign Minister Zograb Mnatsakanyan said.
"The Armenian prime minister will not attend the forum. The issue here is not a refusal, but a manifestation of sovereignty. We did not decline. The prime minister has his program, his agenda of visits, his foreign policy priorities," Mnatsakanyan told reporters on Thursday.
When asked whether the decision is connected to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of WWII held in Poland, the Armenian foreign minister said "that is a vital issue, too."
"We are a country that was directly involved in WWII and the people of Armenia played a big role [in it]. We are sensitive to how this issue is manifested on various sites. We were part of the Soviet Army, our grandfathers fought in the war, our people produced many generals and marshals. We fought against Nazism and we defended our common great motherland and we are, of course, sensitive to such issues," Mnatsakanyan said.