Armenia and United States to Deepen Defense Ties

HOHENFELS . GERMANY — Lieutenant-General Eduard Asryan, the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff has visited the U.S. military headquarters and two training centers in Europe, underscoring Yerevan’s efforts to deepen defense ties with the United States.

Lieutenant-General Asryan met with Lieutenant General Steven Basham, the deputy head of U.S. European Command (EUCOM), at the EUCOM headquarters in the German city of Stuttgart on Friday. They discussed “Armenia’s security environment, defense reforms and the defense cooperation with the United States,” read an EUCOM statement released afterwards.

The Armenian delegation began their visit to Germany with a tour at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels to observe training activities. They also met with the Non-Commissioned Officer Academy as part of their aims to further develop the Armenian military’s NCO corps.

“We were honored to host Lt. Gen. Asryan and his team. This was a milestone event as we deliberately and incrementally develop our defense relationship,” Basham said.

“Armenian armed forces are currently undergoing significant reforms and transformation and we are interested in receiving support and learning about the best practices from our partners, and especially the United States.” Asryan said. “These discussions lay the foundation to plan and conduct future combined training with U.S. European Command as we aim to advance our military’s ability to respond to changes in a dynamic and complex environment.”

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Basham expressed the U.S.’s readiness to help the South Caucasus nation “professionalize” its armed forces, modernize their command-and-control structures and train military personnel on a larger scale. There was no word on potential U.S. arms supplies.

Asryan visited the U.S. military’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center and Non-Commissioned Officer Academy in Germany before his talks with Basham.