Armenia leans towards West - what is Pashinyan's new "secret"?

By Azernews

By Elchin Alioglu, Trend

Although Yerevan is trying to withdraw from Russia as quickly as possible, it does not want to lose profits and benefits.

The International Republican Institute (IRI) of the USA has conducted a large-scale opinion poll in Armenia. According to the results of the survey, the country that Armenians sympathize with the most is France, and the country they sympathize with the least is Russia.

In a similar survey conducted by IRI in 2018, 87 percent of respondents considered the relations between Armenia and the Russian Federation good, and 11 percent considered them bad. In the last survey, only 50 percent of respondents said that Armenia-Russia relations are good. 49 percent of the respondents are sure that the relations between Armenia and Russia are in a very bad state.

The attitude of Armenians towards the European Union has practically not changed: if in 2018, 81 percent of the respondents said that the relations between Armenia and the EU are in a good state, now this indicator is 86 percent.

The change in the attitude of Armenians towards the United States is also insignificant: the indicator, which was 84 percent in 2018, is now 88 percent.

The most interesting point of the survey conducted by IRI is that 24 percent of Armenians are sure that Russia poses a real threat to Armenia from a political point of view, and 28 percent from an economic point of view.

Of course, the countries that Armenians fear the most are Azerbaijan and Turkiye.

Regarding which countries are Armenia's main commercial and economic partners, Armenians believe that the Russian Federation is in first place (61 percent of respondents), followed by Iran, China and France.

It is clear from the results of the survey that although the citizens of Armenia want to earn at the expense of Russia and ensure their security, they consider the development of relations with the USA, France and the European Union more promising.

It is not a paradoxical picture: cognitive dissonance and duality of consciousness are common in Armenian society.

The author of the desire to achieve collective psychosis is the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and his team acting on his instructions.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization or just simply CSTO called to join the war on the side of Yerevan, become a participant in military operations and "protect the poor Armenians".

These calls did not subside during the war, and immediately after the signing of the Yerevan capitulation document, the Pashinyan administration began to threaten the CSTO and accuse it of treason.

As the authorities of Armenia have not yet been able to restore the sense of reality that they lost long ago, foreign policy shocks and surprising, sudden position changes continue.

One of the reasons for the process is the split in the opposition camp in Armenia.

Thus, the relations of "alliance" between the "Armenia" and "My Step" parliamentary factions managed by former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargyan no longer exist. Since the extraordinary parliamentary elections held in 2021, until now, these two opposition forces have discussed almost any issue in the parliament and tried to act as a united front against the power of Nikol Pashinyan, but now they have distanced themselves from each other and started a mutual struggle.

Differences of opinion between "Armenia" and "My Step" can be observed in a wide range, from votes on the draft laws presented by the government to small tactical decisions.

Although the Hrapark faction participated, the members of the "My Step" faction, unlike the "Armenia" deputies, refused to ask questions to Nikol Pashinyan.

On the contrary, in the previous session, deputies from "Armenia" took part in the discussions in which "My Step" refused to participate, thus putting an end to the "agreed" boycott of parliamentary sessions.

The cause of the split is Serzh Sargsyan. He says that Robert Kocheryan was a complete fiasco in the struggle for power and elections, and wants his predecessor to withdraw from active political activity.

A bitter chaos among political parties

What makes the situation even more interesting is that Robert Kocharyan makes exactly the same demands against Serzh Sargsyan, accusing him of "shameful defeats".

Nikol Pashinyan also gives impetus to the processes. In his speech in the Armenian parliament, he said that the system that should ensure stability and security in the South Caucasus in advance is not functioning now: "I consider elimination of the consequences of the situation as my strategic goal."

Then he declared that it depends on the results of the negotiations mediated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: "The draft of the final peace agreement between our countries in the agreement layer aimed at achieving peace is already in Washington."

Thus, Nikol Pashinyan almost openly declares that it is the collapse of the "security system" that Russia has been declaring for years that created the situation in the region. According to him, the solution to the problem is Armenia's leaning towards the West.

Pashinyan's latest statements and statements are intended entirely for an internal audience. In the current state of the country, in the unrelenting economic crisis, blaming Russia, the Pashinyan administration emphasizes that "treacherous Russia" is involved in the economic and political difficulties Yerevan is facing.

According to official statistics, economic growth of 12 percent is also a fiction, because this "growth" is related to the use of Armenia as a parallel export destination by the Russian Federation, where the West imposes strict sanctions. Money flows from Russia to Armenia due to the "re-export" of local firms under the control of Russian state and private companies to Russia, and "export growth" is observed in Armenia.

Pashinyan and his team believe that the activation of relations with the West, especially with the USA and France, is the only way out for Yerevan in the current situation.

The prime minister of Armenia understands that Armenians living with the country's opposition, revanchism and feelings of revenge will not accept the peace agreement with Azerbaijan and will start mass protests.

Armenian PM's humble acknowledgement

It is no coincidence that Pashinyan said in his speech in the parliament, "I am constantly called a traitor, if they call me one more time, it's not a problem - I'm used to it", and then he said that "the draft peace agreement may contain potentially unacceptable things for Armenia, but we may have to do things for peace." .

On June 1, the summit meeting of European Union countries will be held in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. Azerbaijan and Armenia are also expected to participate in the summit.

Nikol Pashinyan indicates that the final peace agreement can be signed on that very day, and at the same time, he does not hide his inclination towards the West.