The US and Armenia begin joint military exercises

2023-09-11 15:15:23, Kosova & Bota CNA

The US and Armenia begin joint military exercises

American and Armenian forces in "Eagle Partner 2023" exercises

Armenia and the United States have begun joint military exercises that have angered Moscow. The drills are being held at a time of heightened tensions between Yerevan and neighboring Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Defense Ministry of Armenia said that the exercises called "Eagle Partner 2023" started on September 11 with the aim of preparing Armenian forces for participation in international peacekeeping missions.

Colonel Martin O'Donnell, spokesman for the US command, said the exercises "are a vital opportunity for soldiers from both countries to build a new rapport at the tactical level and increase interoperability for peacekeeping operations".

The exercises are being held in Zar and Armavir near Yerevan and will end on September 20. The US military said 85 of its soldiers and 175 Armenians are taking part in the exercise. The US Army also said that heavy weapons were also included in the exercise.

Russia, which leads the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of which Armenia is a member, has expressed concerns about the joint exercises being held at a time when relations between Moscow and Yerevan have shown signs of weakening.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, on September 10 expressed regret about the "actions of the Armenian leadership", saying that he does not expect "anything good" from the joint exercises, while the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russia "will monitor the situation".

On September 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry invited the Armenian ambassador to a meeting to protest the "unfriendly steps" taken by Yerevan, including military exercises.

In Yerevan, meanwhile, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused Russia of failing to protect Armenia over what he described as continued aggression from Azerbaijan.

Russia has peacekeeping forces in the region overseeing the implementation of the agreement that ended the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 - the second war the two countries have fought since the fall of the Soviet Union.

But Yerevan has accused Russian peacekeeping forces of failing to protect Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is home to nearly 120,000 ethnic Armenians./ REL