Armenia confirmed Wednesday it was preparing to host a joint military exercise with the United States next week, a decision that immediately drew the ire of neighboring Russia.
The Armenian Defence Ministry said the purpose of the Sept. 11-20 "Eagle Partner 2023" exercise was to prepare its forces to take part in international peacekeeping missions. It did not say how many U.S. and Armenian personnel would be involved.
Russia has a military base in Armenia and sees itself as the pre-eminent power in the South Caucasus region, which until 1991 was part of the Soviet Union.
It maintains a peacekeeping force in the region to uphold an agreement that ended a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020, the second they have fought since the Soviet collapse.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a weekend interview with an Italian newspaper that Russia had failed to protect Armenia. He suggested that Russia's war in Ukraine meant it was unable to meet all of Armenia's security needs.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that he disagreed with Pashinyan's remarks.
"Russia is an absolutely integral part of this region," he said. "Russia plays a consistent, very important role in stabilizing the situation in this region ... and we will continue to play this role."
Moscow, in the meanwhile, expressed concerns Wednesday about the U.S.-Armenian joint military exercise plans, saying it would be watching closely.
Kremlin spokesperson Peskov told reporters the exercise required alertness on Russia's part, and Moscow would be monitoring it.
