In full tension with Russia, Armenia announced on Wednesday September 6 to host joint military exercises next week with the United States involving their peacekeeping forces. This is yet another sign of Yerevan’s efforts to distance itself from its traditional Russian ally.

Armenians blame Moscow and its peacekeepers for failing to accomplish their mission, letting Azerbaijan block a key supply route to Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory the two countries have been fighting over for decades.

The “Eagle Partner 2023” maneuvers announced by the Armenian Defense Ministry on Wednesday are to take place from September 11 to 20 at the Zar training center. They aim to “increase the interoperational level” of US and Armenian forces participating in peacekeeping operations.

Their holding comes days after Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Russia of being either “unable to maintain control over the Lachin Corridor or unwilling”.

This land route connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh has supposedly been secured by a Russian peacekeeping force since the end of the war with Azerbaijan in 2020. But for months it has been de facto blocked by the Azerbaijani side, leading to shortages in the region.

Moscow “Vigilance”

The Kremlin strongly criticized Mr. Pashinyan’s remarks. And on Wednesday, he worried about the holding of the American-Armenian maneuvers. “Of course, this requires vigilance,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin. And to add: “We will analyze in depth and monitor the situation. »

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, however, said Armenia was “wise” and “foresighted” enough not to fall into NATO’s sphere of influence, of which the United States is a part. .

“We don’t impose anything on anyone. But naturally, we draw the attention of our partners to the fact that closer relations with NATO are unlikely to bring positive results for their own security,” Galuzin told Russian state news agency TASS on Thursday. .

Another novelty for Armenia, a traditional ally of Moscow in the Caucasus, the wife of Mr. Pashinian, was in Kiev on Wednesday to participate in a meeting of first ladies and first gentlemen organized by the wife of Volodymyr Zelensky on humanitarian issues.

Armed incidents regularly oppose Armenians and Azerbaijanis on the border, while the mediations organized sometimes by the EU, the United States or Russia are unsuccessful.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region of Azerbaijan populated mainly by Armenians which seceded, leading to a war in the 1990s and then another in 2020, won by Baku.