US militarily donated Armenia for 30 years under guise of humanitarian aid

On August 29, the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires William (Chip) Laitinen, and the Defense Attaché, Colonel Kevin Steele in Armenia met with the Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan in Yerevan. Armenian media outlets claim that the meeting discussed the military cooperation between Armenia and the USA, its development prospects, and regional security.

Given that Armenia is the only strategic ally of Russia in the South Caucasus, and Armenia has a tight relationship with Iran, the military cooperation and its development prospects pose questions. What kind of cooperation did the sides speak? How deep the cooperation can develop?

On the issue, Azernews learned the opinion of military expert Ramil Mammadli. The expert noted that despite being a member of the Collective Security Council (analogue of NATO), Armenia has been cooperating with the USA for a long time.

“It is somewhat surprising that Armenia, which is a member of the Collective Security Council, has a high level of cooperation in the military field with the United States, that is, the locomotive and main leading state of NATO. However, the reality is completely different. The point is that for almost 30 years, the USA has been continuously allocating a certain amount of funds to the Armenian Defense Ministry. Of course, these funds are called humanitarian for the military structure, and it is reported that these funds are related to the provision of non-weapon ammunition, training, and the purchase of certain equipment. However, we know very well that, the Armenians have opportunities to manipulate in this direction,” Ramil Mammadli said.

Quoting the former Armenian Defense Minister, Ramil Mammadli pointed out that the root of the cooperation is very deep and it is constantly getting more elaborating. He added that Armenia also cooperates with other NATO members.

“At the beginning of 2000, in a meeting with the deputy of the US defense ministry, the then defense minister of Armenia Mikael Harutyunyan stated that the level of cooperation and joint projects with the US is very high and it is impossible to list them one by one. After 2014, this cooperation expanded further and Armenia signed an agreement with the United States, that is, with NATO, on a number of joint projects. I believe that this is one of the main reasons for the deterioration of Armenia's relations with Russia. It should also be noted that Armenia does not deal with many issues directly with the US defense minister, but indirectly with NATO and US-allied countries, for example, France. Of course, France-Armenia military cooperation or cooperation with other US allies within NATO means cooperation with America itself. From this point of view, the cooperation between the two countries can be analyzed in several directions. After 2018, relations in this direction moved to a more open level. Today, in fact, NATO specialists act as consultants in certain military structures in Armenia, and this is not a secret. In fact, certain opinions are openly voiced about it,” he said.

Ramil Mammadli also touched on the Russian reaction against this cooperation and opined that it played a major role in Russia’s neutrality in the 44-day War.

“As for Russia's attitude to the issue, of course, it is strict. That is why Russia actually supported Azerbaijan's position during the war in 2020. One of the main reasons why Russia takes such a position is the integration of Armenia into the West, the process of becoming an ally of the United States. We should approach the issues from this aspect as well,” Ramil Mammadli concluded.