Russia has expressed concern ahead of Armenia’s planned collaborative exercise with the USA’s troops.
Armenia will be hosting the joint exercise next week. Their defense ministry said that the purpose of the drills was to ensure that their forces are prepared to take part in international peacekeeping missions.
85 American soldiers and 175 Armenians are set to take part. The American members will include members of the Kansas National Guard. They will be armed with rifles and would not be using heavy weaponry, Al Jazeera reports.
Armenia earlier this year had turned down an offer by the Russian led alliance of post-Soviet countries Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a move that is seen as a reflection of Armenia’s tension with Moscow.
Russia has a military base in Armenia and sees itself as the pre-eminent power in the South Caucasus region, which until 1991 was part of the Soviet Union.
