In a possible sign of the geopolitical realignment driven by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, U.S. forces commenced on Monday 10 days of joint exercises with Armenian soldiers. But Armenia has increasingly worked to shrug off Russian influence, particularly in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan directly denied a Russian announcement that the CSTO would host exercises this year in Armenia. U.S. officials said the joint exercises with Armenia had been long in the works and would be focused on peacekeeping operations. Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed “alarm" over the exercises.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 11, 2023 21:47 UTC