Armenia will participate in the 20^th Anniversary Summit of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in Istanbul at deputy foreign minister level, despite Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan being invited to the gathering, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The June 26 summit will be co-chaired by Serbia and Turkey, the two consecutive Chairmanships-in-Office of BSEC in 2012.

The governments of BSEC member states, observers and sectoral dialogue partners, as well as several international and regional organizations have been invited to the summit.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, are among the participants.

In parallel with the summit, several side events such as parliamentarian forums, academic and NGO forums, and business forums are planned.