Armenia hosts joint drills with US forces

YEREVAN: Armenia hosted joint military drills with US troops on Monday, its defence ministry said, the latest sign of Yerevan´s rapprochement with the West amid a deepening rift with Russia.

The announcement highlights the shifting geopolitical situation in the Caucasus, where Moscow´s historical ally Armenia is seeking to forge closer ties with the West and traditionally pro-Western Georgia faces accusations of drifting towards Russia. The joint drills with servicemen from the US Army Europe and Africa and the Kansas National Guard began in Armenia on Tuesday and will last until July 24, Yerevan´s defence ministry said.

The exercises, dubbed Eagle Partner 2024, “will focus on stabilization tasks between conflicting parties during a peacekeeping mission”, it said earlier. “The purpose of the exercise is to enhance the interoperability of units participating in international peacekeeping missions, exchange best practices in control and tactical communication, and improve the readiness of the Armenian unit.”

Home to a permanent Russian military base, Armenia has effectively frozen its participation in the Moscow-led security alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Armenia´s ties with Moscow soured after Russian peacekeepers failed last year to prevent Azerbaijani forces from recapturing the then-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which had been controlled for three decades by Armenian separatists.

The mountainous enclave´s entire Armenian population -- more than 100,000 people -- fled for Armenia in the aftermath and many in Armenia fear Azerbaijani aggression despite both country´s leaders saying a definitive peace deal is within reach.