Armenia holds military exercises with US amid rising tensions

According to the US Army European and Africa Command, the Eagle Partner exercise has kicked off with about 85 US soldiers training about 175 Armenian soldiers until September 20.

Soldiers walk in a trench at the border checkpoint between Armenia and Azerbaijan near the village of Sotk, Armenia, June 18, 2021. Photo: AFP

The Armenian Defense Ministry said the exercise was aimed at “increasing the level of interaction” with US forces in international peacekeeping missions.

The US military said the exercise would help Armenia's 12th Peacekeeping Brigade meet NATO standards ahead of an assessment later this year.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Armenia's decision not to conduct military exercises with the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) alliance and instead cooperate with the United States required "very deep analysis".

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US has had security cooperation with Armenia since 2003 and called the latest exercise “a routine exercise that is not tied to any other event.”

But Moscow last week summoned Armenia’s ambassador to complain about “unfriendly steps” being taken by the country. The ministry said the Armenian envoy had been “severely” reprimanded but insisted the two countries “remain allies”.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a brief but bloody conflict in 2020 over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region in Azerbaijan.

Russia brokered a ceasefire and deployed 2,000 peacekeepers to the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.

But Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently said Moscow was “unable or unwilling” to control the passage. His administration has accused Azerbaijan of closing the road and blockaded the mountainous region, causing a humanitarian crisis in towns with Armenian populations.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been at the center of two wars between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In the 1990s, Armenia defeated Azerbaijan and took control of the region along with seven neighboring Azerbaijani districts.

Thirty years later, energy-rich Azerbaijan, which had built up a powerful military and enjoyed backing from Türkiye, retaliated.

After the 2020 war, Yerevan was forced to cede some of the territories it had controlled for decades.

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh remains volatile and Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of moving troops closer to the region recently, raising fears of a new large-scale conflict.

Mai Anh (according to AFP, CNA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/armenia-tap-tran-voi-my-trong-boi-canh-cang-thang-gia-tang-post264277.html