Armenian defense minister Serge Sargsian has called to a more even-tempered attitude towards the possible participation of the Turkish military in "Cooperative Best Effort" military exercises planned in Armenia in 2003 within NATO "Partnership for Peace" program. Answering the question concerning the extent to which the Armenian and Turkish military may become partners as planned by the coming maneuvers, the minister said, "Fancy a militarized terrorist grouping has appeared in the region threatening both Armenia and Turkey. What should we do under these conditions? I am personally ready to cooperate with Turkey in that case."