By Heghine Buniatian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — The United States and Armenia have “very active and robust” discussions about security and defense, US Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien said in an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on April 11.
“That is also an ongoing topic, and I think that we’ve made significant expansion in that topic in the past year,” she said.
Kvien cited several examples of defense cooperation between the United States and Armenia, including their first joint military exercise since 2008 that took place last year.
“I think that’s a very important signal that the US and Armenia can work together in the defense field. And we’re looking for further ways that we can continue that work together. We’re also going to have an advisor who can come and sit with Armenia’s Ministry of Defense to help build capacity, particularly because Armenia is interested in expanding its participation in things like peacekeeping and other peaceful endeavors. And we want to be helpful to do that. So we’re going to work with them on both reforming internally, how to get your Ministry of Defense up to modern standards, and then also how to do more in the peacekeeping area,” she said.
Kvien also said that Washington and Yerevan have an “ongoing discussion about what Armenia might need in the military sector.”