Ara Abrahamyan, head of the Union of Armenians of Russia, told RIA Novosti that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is putting the country into “vassal dependence” on Turkey and Azerbaijan, at a time when “Baku’s appetites are constantly growing.”
He noted that while even the worst peace is better than war, the fact that another document is being secretly signed raises serious concerns. “What will this peace bring to Armenia? Will Azerbaijani troops withdraw from Armenia’s occupied territories? Will Armenian captives, including Artsakh’s leaders, be released? Will tens of thousands of displaced Artsakh families find shelter? Now it is clear that against the backdrop of Pashinyan’s weakness, Aliyev’s appetites, anti-Armenian rhetoric, and demands grow by the day,” Abrahamyan said.
In his view, the presence of Aliyev and Pashinyan at the White House is part of a chain of tectonic geopolitical shifts and redrawing of spheres of influence in the region. He recalled that Pashinyan himself has admitted he could have stopped the war in October 2020, creating conditions for peace, but did not, instead leading thousands of young Armenians to certain death. “I would like to be wrong, but it seems Pashinyan is personally involved and, worse, is drawing Armenia and Armenians into vassal dependence on Turkey and Azerbaijan,” he stated.
Abrahamyan stressed that U.S. involvement in Armenian issues is nothing new, recalling that 105 years ago, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson acted as an arbiter between Armenia and Turkey, even guaranteeing Armenia access to the Black Sea via Batumi. “Where is that mandate now, which all parties signed? Ask Ataturk and the Turkish parliament. I would not want ‘Trump’s Armenia’ to repeat the fate of ‘Woodrow Wilson’s Armenia,’” he said.
On August 8, U.S. President Donald Trump will host Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House. After separate meetings, a trilateral session will follow, during which Trump says they will officially sign a peace agreement along with other documents.
