- JAMnews
- Yerevan
Greek-Armenian military cooperation
Armenia and Greece are launching a new military cooperation program involving “the exchange of experience in the use of air defense systems.” It is reported that “cooperation in the field of military intelligence” is also an important component of the program.
Political observer Hakob Badalyan says that this is not a new phenomenon, as joint projects began almost 20 years ago.
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The Armenian Embassy in Greece announced that the signing of a document outlining the new program “asserts strong military ties between the two countries”:
“The program strengthens the operational capabilities of the armed forces and the level of interaction, contributing to the strengthening of the role of Greece and Armenia in ensuring stability and security in the region.”
It is reported that the “Greece-Armenia Military Cooperation Program” includes 21 points of joint action, fifteen of which will be carried in Greece and six in Armenia.
The program includes:
- joint training of units, special forces,
- study of objects of electronic warfare,
- exchange of experience in the use of air defense systems,
- cooperation in the field of military intelligence.
According to information published on the website of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, before this document agreements on military cooperation were signed with Greece in 1996, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
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Political observer Hakob Badalyan says that Russia is still Armenia’s main partner in the military sphere. Greece, if not immediately behind Russia, is still one of its most important partners.
“The more complicated the situation at the international level, the tougher the confrontation between the West and Russia became, the more complicated the cooperation between Armenia and NATO and Greece,” he told JAMnews.
According to Badalyan, maintaining a balance and working with the opposing poles is becoming increasingly difficult, requiring “greater mobilization of diplomatic resources.” He maintains that Armenia needs to demonstrate and announce that the country is solving pressing security problems.
According to Badalyan, the new military cooperation program is important both from the point of view of the Armenian-Greek partnership and interaction with the NATO security system:
“This is an additional opportunity for Armenia to solve security problems. It should neither be overestimated nor underestimated.”
According to Badalyan, “the working environment has been formed, we need to try to squeeze the maximum out of it.” He emphasizes that it is now extremely difficult to make long-term plans, so the ability to “work quickly, conduct work of a tactical nature” is important.
“Armenia is trying to work in this mode, given the fact that the security mechanism based on partnership with Russia, to put it mildly, has problems. They must work on eliminating possible problems and gaps in this system,” Badalyan said.
On normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and strained relations between Greece and Turkey, he says that the priority for Armenian diplomacy should be that it is not acting against Turkey.
“In this case, Armenia should also argue that work in different areas is not directed against anyone, but is an an opportunity to manage risks,” he concluded.