Washington Responds to Aliyev’s Accusations of Arming Armenia

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be used for “offensive purposes,” the State Department said on Tuesday, responding to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s allegations about U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. military equipment he said was provided to Armenia.

Commenting on Aliyev’s allegations, a State Department spokesperson said: “U.S. security assistance to both Armenia and Azerbaijan is focused on strengthening interoperability with U.S. 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.

Despite its growing military cooperation with Armenia, Washington has not reported any arms supplies to the South Caucasus nation to date. Nor has it signaled plans for such deliveries.

Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a visit to Washington earlier this month. Austin said they discussed “our growing strategic partnership through training and exercises, military education, and capacity-building.”