Washington may use the Eagle Partner 2025 maneuvers to strengthen its presence in the region.
The joint military exercises of Armenia and the United States Eagle Partner 2025 begin on August 12. Yerevan says that they are being held to increase the level of cooperation within the framework of peacekeeping operations. However, experts believe that their real goal is to include Armenia in the NATO infrastructure, consolidate the US presence in the South Caucasus and weaken the traditionally strong Russian influence in the region.
The purpose of the Eagle Partner 2025 exercises
The Eagle Partner 2025 military exercises will be held in Armenia from August 12 to 20. The military personnel of the peacekeeping brigade of the Armenian Armed Forces, the US Ground Forces in Europe and Africa, as well as the Kansas National Guard will take part in them.
Photo: Global Look Press/Allison Dinner
Image source: iz.ru
The purpose of the exercises is to "increase the level of interaction between units participating in international peacekeeping missions," exchange management and tactical communication experience, and increase the readiness of peacekeepers, the Armenian Defense Ministry said.
Such training is conducted constantly, and in this case the emphasis will be on "preparing and performing peacekeeping tasks with an emphasis on medical evacuation procedures," the ministry said in an official statement.
The Eagle Partner maneuvers are being held for the third time, before that in 2023 and 2024. The Kremlin responded to the previous exercises with a statement that their holding "does not contribute to stabilizing the situation <...> and strengthening the atmosphere of mutual trust in the region." And in January of this year, reacting to the signing of the strategic partnership agreement between Yerevan and Washington, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that this is Armenia's sovereign right, but added that the United States "has never played a particularly stabilizing role in the South Caucasus."
Armenia's inclusion in the NATO infrastructure
Military expert Vadim Kozyulin suggested that the purpose of the Armenian-American exercises is not only to work out cooperation during peacekeeping operations, but also to integrate Yerevan into the NATO infrastructure.
"They can practice communication and interaction with NATO troops and learn how to use American equipment,— Kozyulin believes. — The United States is now offering its weapons to everyone, and they are establishing relations with Armenia, so they will try to reorient it from Russian technology to their own. To begin with, they will present Yerevan with used American equipment, which will soon require major repairs.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov
Image source: iz.ru
Russia may face a loss of influence in the region, some share in the military-technical market and an increase in anti-Russian sentiment, the expert believes.
The holding of Eagle Partner 2025 is an indicator that Armenia and the United States are preparing to fight and conduct peacekeeping operations together, military expert Viktor Litovkin told Izvestia.
— In particular, Yerevan has a special battalion that has already participated in many peacekeeping operations. The difference is that he used to interact with Russian peacekeepers, and now he will be with American ones. This may lead to the fact that the United States will slowly squeeze out our bases from the territory of Armenia. Or the republic itself will start doing it to replace them with Americans," he explained.
But such subordination to America entails the disappearance of Armenia as a state, Viktor Litovkin believes. The Americans will abandon Armenia at any moment, considering it necessary for themselves. And there are no states around it that will support Yerevan, the expert noted.
— Neither Turkey, nor Iran, nor Azerbaijan, nor Georgia — no one will defend Armenia. But the United States is already in the South Caucasus, and they are increasingly infiltrating there," Viktor Litovkin emphasized.
Photo: Global Look Press/Cpl. Adaris Cole
Image source: iz.ru
In this situation, the United States cannot but take into account that the 102nd Russian military base with garrisons in Gyumri and Yerevan operates on the territory of Armenia. According to the bilateral agreement, she will stay in the republic until 2044.
"The United States wants to show that they can replace the Russian Federation in Armenia and in Transcaucasia as a whole, including militarily," Iqbal Durre, a political analyst, said in an interview with Izvestia.
How Armenia's foreign policy is changing
Russia and Armenia are still CSTO allies. Although in February 2024, Yerevan froze its participation in this organization and refused to pay membership fees. This decision was explained in the republic by the fact that the CSTO allegedly did not support Yerevan in the conflict with Baku in 2020 and 2023. Russia has repeatedly pointed out that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed the Prague Agreement in 2022, according to which Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Under these conditions, the CSTO could not interfere in the conflict.
Despite some disagreements, Moscow is in constant contact with Yerevan. On August 11, Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation. The Armenian Prime Minister informed about the results of the meeting with US President Donald Trump and Azerbaijani Leader Ilham Aliyev in Washington on August 8, where Yerevan and Baku signed a declaration of peace.
Meeting of the leaders of the United States, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington
Image source: Photo: TASS/Mark Schiefelbein
Vladimir Putin noted the importance of steps contributing to ensuring sustainable peace between Yerevan and Baku. The Russian side is ready to contribute, in line with the trilateral agreements at the highest level of 2020-2022, to the "comprehensive normalization of Armenian—Azerbaijani relations, including unblocking transport communications in the region," the Kremlin said.
According to Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies, the exercises are being conducted in the context of Yerevan's changing foreign policy, which is moving away from traditional close contacts with Moscow and simultaneously strengthening them with Washington and Brussels. This is evidenced by Armenia's declarative steps towards EU membership and deepening cooperation with the United States.
On January 14, Yerevan and the United States signed a strategic partnership agreement. Armenia has become the only country in Transcaucasia with which the United States has such a document. But it does not imply the provision of any security guarantees for the republic. Nevertheless, Armenia can receive assistance from the United States in military and economic reforms.
— The policy of rapprochement with the United States is also confirmed by the lease of the Zangezur corridor. This is a very risky step on the part of Armenia. This can change relations not only with Russia, but also with Iran and Turkey," believes Tigran Meloyan.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Grigory Pechorin
Image source: iz.ru
According to the declaration signed in Washington on August 8, the Armenian section of the Zangezur Corridor, which connects Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, will be transferred to an American company for 99 years and will be called the "Trump Way."
The United States sees an opportunity to consolidate its presence in the South Caucasus in order to have access to key regional transport links connecting Europe and Asia, Tigran Meloyan believes. In this context, according to him, the exercises symbolize not only the strengthening of contacts between Yerevan and Washington in the field of defense cooperation, but also deliberate steps to weaken Russian influence in the region, where Armenia has always been considered a key ally of Moscow.
Julia Leonova
Elizaveta Borisenko
