U.S. Vice President Mike Pence addresses servicemen participating in the joint multinational military exercise ‘Noble Partner 2017’ at an airbase outside Tbilisi on August 1, 2017.
A senior U.S. diplomat praised the Armenian military on Friday for participating in the latest NATO-led military exercises held in neighboring Georgia, calling that a “great example of Armenia’s ability to balance its interests.”
“Armenia should be very proud,” Richard Mills, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). “It was the only [Collective Security Treaty Organization] member in this exercise.”
“And it contributed a very important component to this military exercise with the medical units that supported all the other nations that participated,” he said. “That helped the Armenian military, that helped this exercise and, I think, it helped security in Europe overall.”
The two-week drills, which began in late July, involved about 2,800 soldiers from the United States, Georgia, Britain, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, Slovenia and Armenia. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited the participating troops during an August 1 trip to Georgia.
The participation of around 30 Armenian soldiers in the drills codenamed “Noble Partner” underscored Armenia’s policy of complementing a military alliance with Russia with closer security ties to the West.