The United States on January 14 signed an agreement to expand security cooperation with Armenia, which is seeking a greater distance from traditional ally Russia following a humiliating loss to Azerbaijan.
The US and Armenia formed a “strategic partnership commission” that will look for ways to build ties in areas from defense to the economy to democracy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, according to the US Department of State..
The US is “working with Armenia in the realm of security and defense, and in particular, to support its efforts to assert its independence and sovereignty over its own territory,” reportedly Blinken said at a signing ceremony with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
“We are increasingly strong partners, and I think that is for the good of both of our countries, as well as the good of the region and beyond,” Blinken said.
Among concrete measures, Blinken said the US would send a team to Armenia to provide expertise on strengthening border security.
The US will also start negotiations with Armenia on civilian nuclear cooperation, and Yerevan will formally join a longstanding US-led coalition on defeating the Islamic State extremist movement.
Armenia is formally an ally of Russia through the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. But it suspended participation over what it called a failure by Russia, embroiled in its invasion of Ukraine, to provide sufficient assistance against Azerbaijan.
Armenpress reports that Armenian Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, for his part, saluted Blinken’s efforts and said Armenia was still pursuing a peace agreement.
He reprotedly thanked U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his team for their efforts in advancing cooperation between the two countries to a new level.
According to Armenpress, Armenia-U.S. relations in 2024 were marked by active political dialogue and valuable achievements. Notably, on April 5, a trilateral Armenia-U.S.-EU meeting took place, and on June 11, the concluding session of the Armenia-U.S. strategic dialogue was held in Yerevan, where a vision for deepening relations was outlined, aimed at elevating the bilateral dialogue to a strategic partnership.
