The United States and Russia both had troops stationed in Armenia this week as neighboring Azerbaijan launched a major military offensive in the ethnic-Armenian controlled territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
A U.S. military spokesperson said Wednesday that American troops would complete a joint-military exercise as planned with Armenian forces in the country, which houses a Russian military base that was set up following an interstate agreement between Moscow and Yerevan in 1995.
The spokesperson said the the 10-day Eagle Partner 2023 exercise involving 85 U.S. soldiers and 175 Armenians, which began on September 11, had not been affected by Azerbaijan's decision on Tuesday to launch "anti-terrorist activities" to "suppress large-scale provocations" in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The joint-military exercise took place at two training grounds near the capital Yerevan.
"We were aware that they were conducting operations but we didn't assess there to be any risk to our soldiers at the time and so they remained for the duration of the exercise," the spokesperson said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians and has been governed by the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, also known as the Republic of Artsakh by Armenians.
Large-scale conflicts broke out between the two countries in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union and tensions have remained high despite a Russian-brokered truce in 2020.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been cut off from vital supplies since December, when Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin corridor, its only road link to Armenia. Azerbaijan claimed to fully control the breakaway region following its brief military offensive this week after separatist Armenian fighters said they would disarm and disband under a cease-fire mediated by Moscow.
Representatives from the Azerbaijan government and Nagorno-Karabakh are meeting on Thursday for talks to discuss the region's future. Russian peacekeepers accompanied a delegation from the region for talks in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh, the Azerbaijan State News Agency reported.
Russia and Armenia have long been close allies, and are both members of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), although Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to support his country amid the ongoing clashes with Azerbaijan.
Some 2,000 Russian peacekeepers were reportedly involved in deescalation in the region, and Pashinyan said they are fully responsible for the security of Nagorno-Karabakh's residents.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
