French and Greek soldiers joined an annual U.S.-Armenian military exercise that began in Armenia on Wednesday amid the South Caucasus country’s heightened tensions with Russia.
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, the weeklong exercise codenamed Eagle Partner 2026 involves 250 Armenian soldiers, 58 U.S. military personnel as well as 24 French and 11 Greek service members. They will practice joint peacekeeping operations at a training ground just north of Yerevan.
“Through joint multilateral training, Eagle Partner 2026 strengthens interoperability, supports the exchange of best practices, and enhances peacekeeping readiness,” read a separate statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan.
The embassy said that the annual joint drills, which were first held in 2023, will also build on “longstanding U.S.-Armenia defense cooperation.”
Russian denounced the pervious U.S.-Armenian drills that highlighted a reorientation of the Armenian government’s foreign policy towards the West. Russian-Armenian tensions rose further in the run-up to Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections. Moscow banned multimillion-dollar imports of Armenian agricultural products and beverages as it pressed Yerevan to choose between seeking to join the European Union or remaining part of a Russian-led economic bloc.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government signaled its intention to continue moving closer to the EU after its victory in the disputed elections. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan made a point of attending a meeting of the EU’s top diplomats in Luxembourg on Monday.
Pashinian also enjoys the strong backing of the current U.S. administration. U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed him for reelection on May 28 two days after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s brief visit to Yerevan.
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