Russia voices concern over Armenia's announcement of joint military drill with US

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Kremlin on Wednesday expressed concern over Armenia's announcement of US troops participating in military exercises in the country, saying that Russia is thoroughly analyzing the situation and closely monitoring the latest developments in the region.

"Such news causes wariness, especially in the current situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a news conference in Moscow, referring to an earlier Wednesday announcement by the Armenian Defense Ministry that the US military will join its forces in EaglePartner 2023 military drills in the country from Sept. 11 to 20.

On Monday, the chair of the European Committee for NATO, Gunther Fehlinger, said that Armenia should join the military alliance.

Later in the day, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan stated that the country cooperates with NATO in various formats and is ready to continue this process.

Regarding US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Ukraine, which began on Wednesday, Peskov said Washington pushed Kyiv to wage the war "until the last Ukrainian," but that this will have no impact on Russia's "special military operation."

"We have repeatedly heard statements that they intend to continue to help Kyiv as much as necessary. In other words, they are going to continue to support Ukraine in its state of war and wage this war to the last Ukrainian, sparing no money for it. That's how we perceive it. We know that. It will not be able to influence the course of a special military operation," he stressed.

When asked about Britain's move to declare the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group a "terrorist organization," Peskov pointed out that there is no such legal entity.

"There is nothing to comment on here. Now, it can only be reminded that de jure, such a group does not exist," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the British government announced that it would send a draft proscription order to parliament, making support for the Wagner Group illegal and punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

If approved, the order will go into force on Sept. 13, making it a criminal offense to be a member of, encourage support for, assist, or use the logo of that group, the Home Office said in a statement.