Austin said after the talks that he welcomed Papikian to the Pentagon to “reaffirm our shared goal of peace in the South Caucasus.”
“We also discussed our growing strategic partnership through training and exercises, military education, and capacity-building,” he wrote on X.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder issued a similar readout of the meeting. He noted that it was “the first such meeting in two decades.”
In a statement released on Friday morning, Papikian said he “highlighted the priority areas” of growing U.S.-Armenian military cooperation. He said they include “transforming” Armenia’s armed forces and enhancing their interoperability with the U.S. military through military training and education and joint exercises.
“The meeting also addressed international and regional security issues,” the statement added without elaborating.
The top generals of the two nations also met in Washington in October. General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised growing U.S.-Armenian military ties and called for countering Russia’s “malign influence in the region.”
In July, U.S. and Armenian troops held a joint exercise in Armenia for a second time in less than a year. They practiced a joint peacekeeping operation in the presence of three U.S. generals who arrived in the South Caucasus country on the occasion.
Russia denounced the drills, saying they will deal another blow to Russian-Armenian military ties and put Armenia’s security at greater risk. The U.S. State Department announced, meanwhile, that it will soon appoint a resident adviser to the Armenian Defense Ministry in line with an ongoing “upgrade of U.S.-Armenia relations to strategic partnership.”
As part of his efforts to reorient Armenia towards the West, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian froze early this year his country’s membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Pashinian again indicated on Wednesday that Yerevan will eventually leave the military alliance altogether. Senior Russian officials have repeatedly said in recent months that Western powers cannot offer any viable alternatives to Armenia’s security and economic development.
So far the United States has signaled no plans to provide Armenia with weapons or other significant military support. Papikian did not say whether he discussed the possibility of U.S. arms supplies during the talks with Austin.
On Wednesday, Papikian met in Washington with senior executives of Milliken & Company, a U.S. manufacturer of protective textiles, specialty chemicals and floor covering. The Armenian Defense Ministry said they explored “potential cooperation in the development of new uniforms for the Armenian Armed Forces.”