Interview

"Washington and Brussels are adjusting the hands of the political clock in the region." Gantaharyan

Radar Armenia's interlocutor is Shahan Gantaharyan, an international scholar.

- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet in Brussels on April 5. During this meeting, they will discuss ways of trilateral cooperation that contribute to Armenia's development. What significance will the meeting at this level have in terms of neutralizing Armenia's security risks?

- This proves that the collective West is coordinating its policy towards Armenia. More precisely, there was a distribution of roles between Washington and Brussels. The key to trilateral cooperation is the neutralization of Russian influence. Naturally, this isn't comforting for Moscow. What reaction Russia will have needs to be clarified. Joining the Rome Statute, demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from "Zvartnots," and freezing CSTO membership are the links of this chain, which will be supplemented, keeping in mind the current processes. In the region, Washington and Brussels are adjusting the hands of the political clock.

- Zakharova stated that Western emissaries have recently become significantly more active in the Armenian direction. Their efforts are aimed at devaluing Moscow-Yerevan ties and, in the ideal case, completely disrupting them. Is Moscow afraid that Armenia will become a candidate for EU membership and break alliance relations?

- Of course, all these processes targeted the Russian factor. Naturally, Moscow is worried about the regional activation of Western countries. It should be understood that it is not Armenia that appeals to the European Union, but the opposite direction is working. Armenia is a platform for pushing out the Russian factor or establishing counterbalance bases in the region.

- The Secretary General of NATO was in the region. What messages did this visit contain, and to whom were they mainly addressed?

It was a regional visit, and NATO wants to deepen cooperation with regional countries. Tbilisi has already come a long way. Baku is the younger brother of NATO's second force, and an active policy of new penetration is applied in the direction of Armenia. Both sides received a message that NATO was ready to support the establishment of peace.

- Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris at the beginning of May, and Vladimir Putin will revisit China in May. What processes do these visits talk about?

There is a tonal difference here. The President of China is visiting France, while the President of the Russian Federation is going to Beijing himself. However, it is important that China continues to balance its status as an economic pole between opposing axes. This behavior will continue. China's positions and support will not be unambiguous. The counterbalancing status will continue.

Hayk Magoyan