Armen Barseghyan, who is accused of photographing weapons and ammunition at an Armenian military base and sending them by e-mail to US contacts, is due to appear in a US court this week, the embassy said.

"This is a bright example of US-Armenian cooperation on security issues," the embassy said.

The United States announced last month that it would prosecute 18 people suspected of attempting to bring illegal assault weapons from eastern Europe across US borders. Armenia arrested three suspects a week later.

No arms or ammunition disappeared off the military base targeted by the accomplices, the Armenian military said.