Armenia has been moving toward rapprochement with the West for quite a while, but this summer a new tendency has emerged, Izvestiya writes. If earlier it was about political and diplomatic interaction, now military cooperation is developing more intensively.
Recently, there have been many significant visits by U.S. officials, while Armenia’s relations with Russia and its allies, on the contrary, remain complicated. In addition, Armenia continues to follow a policy of severing relations with the CSTO.
According to Russian political scientist Andrey Areshev, Armenia is consistently moving toward the West. “The authorities of Armenia have put their republic up for geopolitical auction. This is being done amid the weakening of Russia’s positions in the South Caucasus. I don’t think this trade will lead to any success. The U.S. or anyone else is unlikely to take on the obligations to protect Armenia. Most likely, there will be cooperation on certain issues and specific projects,” Areshev noted.
Telegram channel Rybar wrote that the news about the refusal of representatives of Armenia from joint military exercises with the CSTO was completely predictable, considering the latest demarches of the Armenian authorities. The media effect of such news is important for the Armenian government and its coordinators. After all, the U.S. does not hide the aims of the policy it pursues in Armenia: to sever relations with Russia. That is why the Americans, as well as the authorities of Armenia themselves, lay the responsibility of Armenia’s defeat in the war with Azerbaijan on Russia.
“At the same time, Washington encourages the early conclusion of a peace treaty between the countries on the terms of Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Armenian Ministry of Defense will soon receive a military adviser from the U.S., and recently, the Americans conducted military drills with Armenians, focusing on quelling mass riots. It is obvious that soon we can expect announcements about the complete withdrawal from the organization,” reads the post.
