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2024-07-16 08:19:47
Author: Elchin Alioglu
Source: Trend
Today, military exercises “Eagle Partner 2024” started in Armenia jointly with the United States.
The management and communication battalion of the peacekeeping brigade of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, the 10th Mountain Rifle Division of the Ground Forces of the US European and African Command, as well as the servicemen of the Kansas State National Guard are participating in the exercises, which will continue until July 24.
“The aim of the exercises is to increase the operational compatibility between military units in peacekeeping operations within the international peacekeeping mission, to exchange advanced experience in the field of management and tactical communication, as well as to increase the combat readiness of the Armenian military,” said the official statement released on the exercises.
In fact, these trainings are a substitute for “Noble Partner” to be held in Georgia. Washington officials accused the Georgian leadership of “obvious anti-Western and anti-US rhetoric” and postponed the mentioned exercises. The Pentagon later changed its mind and decided to hold the exercises in Georgia from July 25 to August 6.
It is not clear what, why and how the positions of official Tbilisi will change by July 25, because the authorities of Georgia do not intend to act within the framework of the instructions and instructions received from Washington, and they have no intention of changing their positions.
By postponing the exercises for 10 days, the US Ministry of Defense hoped that there would be radical changes in the positions of the government in Tbilisi. This was a weak message that official Tbilisi did not want to hear.
By carrying out the exercises planned to be held in Georgia in Armenia, the United States, in fact, makes it clear which country in the South Caucasus it considers to be its “real and main regional partner”.
Last year, joint military exercises between the Americans and Armenians were held in early September and caused an extremely harsh reaction from Russia.
There is no doubt that the exercises that started today will further worsen the already extremely cold relations between Moscow and Yerevan.
Official Moscow has absolutely no doubts that the joint exercises of the USA and Armenia, official Yerevan’s open challenge to Russia, is to gain a more reliable partner position in front of the West.
It should be noted that although Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of the CIS countries, it has not participated in any of the recent events of this organization. In return, official Yerevan accelerates bilateral military partnership, relations and contacts with a number of NATO countries, especially the United States and France.
Indeed, recently the contacts between the United States and Armenia have become active. High-ranking members of the US State Department have made frequent visits to Yerevan. A high-level US-Armenia dialogue was held and the parties decided to raise mutual relations to the level of strategic partnership.
At the same time, a bipartisan delegation led by US Senate Republican Senator Roger Wicker visited Yerevan. At the press conference held in Yerevan, Senator R. Wicker declared Armenia to be Washington’s “main partner” in the South Caucasus and then called on Azerbaijan to “be careful in relations with Russia” and warned Baku in his world. In fact, in his address to Baku, R. Uiker wanted to order our country to reconsider its geopolitical priorities, to “downgrade” the relations with Russia, Turkey and China from the level of alliance with strategic partnership, but he did not dare to do so.
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has been weakening his country’s participation in all institutions where Russia has a leading role in the last two years in a consistent, decisive and planned manner. We are talking not only about the CSTO, but also about the Eurasian Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union of the CIS countries.
Recently, Yerevan lowered the level of participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries. Thus, not the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonyan, but his deputy, Ruben Rubinyan, went to the session of the institution held in St. Petersburg.
Of course, this obvious demarche is a demonstration of Armenia’s dissatisfaction at the interstate level with Russia’s policy in the South Caucasus and especially with the geopolitical realities formed in our region. Official Yerevan shows its insistence on consistently and decisively weakening its relations with Moscow.
Since the USA’s obvious and rude interventions in Georgia’s internal politics, its failure to stop attempts to overthrow the current government through various NGOs and political forces it finances, as well as media structures and politicians, have exhausted the patience of official Tbilisi, Washington sees the way out in maximally activating relations with Yerevan.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is trying to take advantage of this opportunity to protect his weakened power. He is actually following the path of Mikheil Saakashvili.
If Pashinyan follows this path to the end, Armenia will face huge losses and a difficult situation, which is difficult to predict from now.
Inexhaustible promises, tempting statements of the USA and France, numerous visits of American and French politicians to Yerevan, words about preferential loans and aid – all this created the illusion of “the West is with us” in the Armenian authorities.
The moments that strengthen the illusion are the fact that the heads of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan and Armenia held talks in Washington, within the framework of the NATO summit, with the mediation of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and today, joint military exercises with the US have started in Armenia.
However, Pashinyan and his team are immersed in dreams and do not understand the real situation.
The reality is that the USA and France are interested in Armenia only in the South Caucasus region, using this country as a tool in their games against Russia.
The problems of the West have increased, and this was shown by the anniversary summit of NATO held in Washington. It became clear that the resources and interest of the North Atlantic Alliance are not enough for a serious intervention in the processes outside Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region.
The West is now more concerned about the “Trump problem” in the United States and the weakening of the geopolitical, economic and military positions of the United States, the leader of NATO.
The adoption of the declaration on Ukraine at the NATO summit showed what happened. About 1/3 of the North Atlantic members, especially the Balkan states, Turkey and Greece, abstained from increasing aid to Ukraine.
There has never been such a split in the history of NATO.
The political establishment of the collective West “Everything for Ukraine!” although he supported the global political discourse with all his might, he still received half of what was promised to Kyiv.
In Washington, an additional 40 billion dollars of aid was promised to Kiev, but this money will be given as a loan to Ukraine.
Of course, many promises were made to Ukraine.
When the collective West does not have the resources for geopolitical progress outside of Europe, it is a very wrong, dangerous and corrupt tactic for Armenia to go to confrontation with Russia and in this process rely on the United States and the European Union, especially France.
In the situation we are talking about, the policy of the USA, France and the European Union in the South Caucasus has the effect of a real adventure.
Despite the hopes and declarations of the Armenians, the aspirations of the Armenians are not among the main issues on the agenda of the West.
The collective West is now more interested in finding solutions to the difficult problems it faces in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, the India-Pakistan border, and Africa. The South Caucasus is not a priority for the major geopolitical players in world politics.
Moreover, unlike Azerbaijan, Armenia has nothing to interest and attract the West. Nikol Pashinyan still does not want to understand that Armenians are a small demographic group for the collective West, and Armenia is a weak, poor, and without serious perspectives.