NATO countries want to turn Armenia into their outpost in South Caucasus — expert

NATO countries want to turn Armenia into their outpost in South Caucasus — expert According to Alexander Stepanov, Armenia has been within NATO’s sphere of influence since 1992, but military-political cooperation between the parties has only recently reached its peakMOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. NATO countries are attempting to turn Armenia into their outpost in the South Caucasus, which is evident from their plans to conduct the Eagle Partner drills involving servicemen from the US, France, and Greece, as well as the country’s rearmament to Western standards, military expert Alexander Stepanov told TASS. According to him, Armenia has been within NATO’s sphere of influence since 1992, but military-political cooperation between the parties has only recently reached its peak. "This is a very serious challenge, and it is obvious that the key drivers of this process are Washington and Paris. Paris is playing its own game. It has long cooperated with Armenia through its security agencies and is considering options for developing military-technical cooperation and supplying its own weapons. In addition, negotiations are underway on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. The trend is toward drawing Armenia as deeply as possible into the alliance and turning it into a NATO outpost in the south and, de facto, throughout the South Caucasus," the expert noted. According to Stepanov, France is actively strengthening its military-technical partnership with Armenia by expanding the range of military supplies. A key aspect of this cooperation is the transfer of radar systems, which allows Paris to deploy its intelligence capabilities in the region. On June 15, the press service of the Armenian Defense Ministry reported that the Eagle Partner 2026 drills will be held in preparation for participation in international peacekeeping missions. The ministry noted that the drills will include 250 servicemen from the Armenian Armed Forces’ peacekeeping brigade, 58 servicemen from the US Army Europe and Africa and the Kansas National Guard, 24 servicemen from France, and 11 servicemen from Greece. During the event, peacekeeping tasks will be rehearsed and carried out. 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