Armenia on Tuesday signed a strategic partnership agreement with the United States, continuing its efforts to move away from Russia following Azerbaijan’s conquest and ethnic cleansing of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The agreement signed on Tuesday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan includes cooperation on defense, border security, and economics, and paves the way for future cooperation on civilian nuclear power.
Blinken said on Tuesday that a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol team would soon be dispatched to help the Armenians secure their borders.
“I’m also very pleased to announce today Armenia’s intent to join the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” Blinken said. The 87-member coalition, also known as the Global Coalition Against Daesh, was founded in 2014 to combat the influence of the Islamic State.
Foreign Minister Mirzoyan said Armenia joined the coalition because it believes “collective action is essential in addressing this threat.”
Armenia is a majority Christian nation, while its nemesis Azerbaijan is Muslim. The Azerbaijanis forcefully expelled a hundred thousand Armenian Christians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region, known to its Armenian residents as the Republic of Artsakh, following a cruel blockade and military conquest in late 2023.
“Our relations, based on shared values and mutual interests, have witnessed remarkable growth in recent years. They have matured to a point where upgrading them to a Strategic Partnership is not only fitting but essential for navigating the complex geopolitical landscape,” Mirzoyan said of the new strategic agreement with America.
The Armenian foreign minister also thanked the United States for attempting to broker a lasting peace agreement with Azerbaijan, an effort that has yet to prove successful. One of the major sticking points is that each country still controls territory claimed by the other. Another is that Azerbaijan demands Armenia change its constitution to officially recognize Azerbaijan’s ownership of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Armenians were infuriated when Russian “peacekeepers,” sent to the disputed territory after Russia brokered a ceasefire in the Armenia-Azerbaijan war of 2020, passively watched Azeri forces rampage through Armenian villages.
Armenia retains nominal membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-dominated regional security alliance, but it has drifted further from Moscow’s sphere of influence over the past year. In December, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said relations with Russia have “deteriorated past the point of no return,” and Armenia has effectively suspended participation in CSTO.
Pashinian demonstrated just how far relations have deteriorated in December by refusing to host a summit meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union, a trade bloc joining Russia with former Soviet satellite states. Armenia held the rotating presidency of the organization at the time.
The State Department noted on Tuesday that the United States has “invested approximately $3.3 billion in Armenia to support democratic reforms, economic growth and resilience, and humanitarian assistance, including $340 million since 2021.”
“The United States continues to support Armenia’s efforts to enhance its economic resilience, promote advanced technologies, and bolster trade, energy, and food security for a prosperous and secure Armenia,” the State Department said.
U.S. support also includes a yearly joint training exercise called Eagle Partner, held for the first time in 2023. Eagle Partner 2024, held in July, was substantially larger than the first iteration of the exercise.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday sought to downplay the U.S.-Armenia strategic agreement, insisting Moscow still values its ties with Armenia, which should be thankful for Russia’s friendship.
“The United States, of course, is trying in every possible way to pull new countries into its wake,” Peskov sneered.
