'No Complication' — U.S. Says Military Exercises In Armenia Won't Impact Its Karabakh Mediation

The United States said on Monday that it sees 'no complication' for its mediating efforts between Azerbaijan and Armenia amid its joint war games with the latter which kicked off yesterday TURAN's Washington correspondent reports citing senior State Department officials.

"We don't see a complication there," officials told reporters on background.

The exercises, dubbed "Eagle Partner 2023" involve about 175 Armenian and 85 U.S. soldiers outside Yerevan, and are aimed at getting Armenia's 12th Peacekeeping Brigade up to NATO standards for an evaluation later this year.

When asked by TURAN about Russia's protesting Armenia over dills, the State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing that "given Russia has invaded two of its neighbors in recent years, it should refrain from lecturing countries in the region about security arrangements."

Miller also said that military drills are not in response to any particular event but rather a routine training in order to "maintain readiness and we continuously improve on the interoperability between our armed forces."

"Armenia is a longstanding partner to the United States and has an enduring relationship since 2003 with the Kansas National Guard as part of the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program.  So no, this is a routine exercise that is in no way tied to any other events," he added.

In the meantime, senior State Department officials told reporters that they noted the drills, along with a combination of other decisions and steps that Armenia has taken, "really got Russia's attention."

"You'll have to ask Russia how they feel about it," an official concluded.

Alex Raufoglu