WASHINGTON (Azatutyun) — US military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be used for “offensive purposes,” the State Department said on Tuesday, December 24, responding to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s allegations about US arms supplies to Yerevan.
Aliyev claimed last week that the Armenian military is receiving “lethal weapons” from not only France and India but also the United States.
“The US does not acknowledge it,” he told the state-run Russia Today broadcaster. “However, we have tracked military transport planes landing at Armenian airports, delivering weapons there.”
Aliyev did not offer any proof of the claim or specify the types of US military equipment he said was provided to Armenia.
Commenting on Aliyev’s allegations, a State Department spokesperson said: “US security assistance to both Armenia and Azerbaijan is focused on strengthening interoperability with US and NATO forces, increasing military professionalization, and securing their borders with Iran.”
“The United States calibrates all its security assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan to ensure that it is not usable for offensive purposes and does not undermine or hamper ongoing efforts to negotiate a durable and dignified peace,” the official added in a statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
