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Armenia began joint military exercises with the United States on Monday, a move that reflects the country's leader's efforts to forge closer ties with the US and other Western allies as the country's relationship with longtime ally Russia , have worsened.
The maneuvers named "Eagle Partner" aim to increase the interoperability of units participating in international peacekeeping missions, according to Armenia's Defense Minister Suren Papikyan.
They include Armenian peacekeeping forces, US Army troops in Europe and Africa, and the Kansas National Guard. It was not immediately clear how many forces were involved.
The maneuvers were scheduled to last until July 24.
Russia has been Armenia's main economic partner and ally since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenia, a landlocked country that was once part of the Soviet Union, has a Russian military base and is part of the security alliance of led by Moscow, the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Armenia's ties with Russia, however, have been increasingly strained since Azerbaijan launched a surprise military campaign last year to take the Karabakh region, ending three decades of control by Armenian separatists.
Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers, who were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh after a previous round of conflict in 2020, of failing to stop the Azerbaijani offensive. Moscow rejected the accusations, arguing that its troops had no mandate to intervene.
Russia has engaged in a delicate balancing act, trying to maintain close relations with Armenia while also maintaining warm ties with Azerbaijan, as well as its key ally Turkey, a key economic partner for Moscow, while Western sanctions persist.
The Kremlin has expressed anger over Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's efforts to deepen Armenia's ties with the West and distance his country from Moscow-dominated alliances.
Russia was particularly concerned by Armenia's decision to join the International Criminal Court, which last year indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes related to Russia's war in Ukraine.
As the gap in its relationship with Russia continued to widen, Armenia froze its participation in the Russian-dominated security alliance, canceled its participation in joint military exercises and did not participate in the bloc's high-level meetings.
Also in September 2023, Armenia organized the "Eagle Partner" exercises, causing concern in Moscow, where officials called the step "unfriendly". /VOA
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