Arthur Khachikyan: Iran and Russia will draw conclusions from Armenia-US military exercises

Dr. Arthur Khachikyan of Stanford University believes that the holding of Armenia-US military exercises will have negative consequences for Armenia.

“This will only complicate our situation, because once again our neighboring states, which have real interests in Armenia and may be ready to take some actions, will not trust us. Iran and Russia will draw conclusions that the authorities continue to have it both ways, therefore they cannot work with us,” the political expert told Alpha News.

Earlier, the Ministry of Defense announced that the joint Armenia-US exercise “Eagle Partner-2023” will be held in Armenia from September 11 to 20. The MoD reported that the Armenia-US exercise is aimed at increasing the readiness of Armenian units that are included in the NATO Partnership for Peace program.

Arthur Khachikyan emphasized that the military exercise as a rule contains a message and the states that hold military exercises should be ready for real steps. Meanwhile, according to him, military exercises with the United States will not give anything to Armenia, moreover, they will negatively impact our relations with Iran and Russia.

“Is the USA ready to provide military assistance to Armenia? Can the USA declare that it will ensure the security of the people of Artsakh or Armenia? I don’t think so,” Arthur Khachikyan said, adding that in the case of Ukraine, states provide security guarantees, but in the case of Armenia, there is none.