YEREVAN, January 15. /TASS/. The charter on strategic cooperation, signed with the United States, lays the foundation for deepening of Armenia’s cooperation with the Pentagon, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan said.
"The signing of this charter will become the foundation for a deeper and institutional cooperation with the United States. And we intend to use this opportunity," he noted.
The charter on strategic partnership was signed during Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s visit to Washington. At the beginning of the meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a group of US Customs and Border Protection employees will be sent to Armenia to strengthen the bilateral security cooperation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Armenia’s decision to sign such agreement is Yerevan’s sovereign choice. He underscored that he sees no problem in Armenia’s contacts with Western countries and the EU, but noted that regional countries must resolve their issues in contact with their direct neighbors instead of asking the US and the EU for support.