US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan launched the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Partnership Commission on January 14 marking the latest milestone in the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The United States and Armenia signed the strategic partnership agreement at the State Department in Washington expanding cooperation in security and several of areas as Yerevan appears to distance itself from Russia, a traditional. The United States 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," Blinken said at the signing ceremony.
"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, describing the agreement as a milestone in cooperation on defense, security, the economy, and democratization. He announced that in the coming weeks, a U.S. customs and border patrol team would travel to Armenia to work with Armenian partners on developing border security capabilities.
In addition, the agreement calls for the United States to start negotiations with Armenia on nuclear cooperation in the civilian space, and Yerevan will formally join a U.S.-led coalition on defeating the Islamic State extremist group. Mirzoyan saluted that effort and said Armenia appreciates U.S. “steadfast support for Armenia's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity." "We believe that a stable and prosperous South Caucasus is in the interest of all regional actors and the broader international community," Mirzoyan said at the signing ceremony.
Washington and Yerevan hold annual joint military drills in Armenia and the countries have signed several trade and investment agreements. The U.S. also hosts a sizable Armenian diaspora. The US Embassy in Armenia stated that the bilateral cooperation reflected a shared commitment to a more resilient, peaceful, secure, and independent South Caucasus. It said that, to date, 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. “Our partnership is based on our shared democratic values, and together, we are working to expand our economic, and security and defense cooperation; strengthen democracy, justice, and inclusion; and increase people-to-people exchanges” it stated.
Armenia is formally an ally of Russia through the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and Moscow maintains a military base in Armenia. However, relations have soured over what Armenia called a failure by Russia to provide sufficient assistance when Azerbaijan in 2023 seized Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing some 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on January 14 during a press conference that the Russian partnership with Armenia had been positive for Yerevan, while the United States had “never played a stabilizing role in the South Caucasus." Peskov said that relations with Russia offer "a significant dividend for Armenia and its people,” adding that Moscow intends to further develop them.
Meanwhile, Armenia's parliament last week passed a bill to launch the country's bid to join the European Union, although the country’s accession is unlikely in the foreseeable future.
