Armenia will face rising gas prices if Pashinyan is re-elected: Malek Dudakov

Malek Dudakov, an American studies political analyst, commented to Alpha News on the West’s influence on the upcoming elections in Armenia, which he described as fateful.

“Not long ago, as is known, American Vice President Vance visited the country, a major European summit was held in Yerevan, and the latest episode was the visit of United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which they signed a memorandum on strategic partnership, but nothing is changing in any radical way. Although the United States has promised arms deliveries to Armenia, one must understand that transferring a large quantity of weapons will still require Congressional approval. And not everyone there is ready to give the green light. Of course, the Armenian lobby is present in American politics, but alongside it there are opposing groups of influence, in particular the Turkish lobby, which will undoubtedly resist this in every way possible. All of this is being used in a media and political-technology context to strengthen Pashinyan’s position ahead of the upcoming elections. Pashinyan is trying to show: look, the entire Western world is with us. And if voters support him and he is re-elected to a third term as prime minister, then, as it is being presented, Armenia will have vast horizons open before it in terms of European integration and strengthening ties with the Western world. The other side of that is that it is also obvious to everyone: no one is planning to admit Armenia into the European Union anytime soon. So if such a prospect exists at all, it is only in a very long-term format,” said Dudakov.

According to the expert, Pashinyan’s drive toward European integration may complicate relations with Russia, and Rubio’s visit to Yerevan is a marker of the West’s concern over a possible defeat of the prime minister.

“As we can see, difficulties are already arising across a wide range of economic and trade issues, and the Russian market is gradually closing to Armenian goods. And it is clear that if he is re-elected, Armenia will most likely face rising prices for gas, which it currently receives from Russia on favorable terms. Replacing all of these goods and energy resources will be extremely difficult. That is why these elections in Armenia will most likely prove fateful. Overall, I would say that Mark Rubio’s visit to Armenia does not seriously affect either Armenian-Russian relations, or even Armenian-American relations in any full sense. It is more of an important marker of how concerned the West currently is about a possible defeat of Pashinyan in the upcoming elections. Because if he loses, the positions of both the United States and many European countries in the South Caucasus will be noticeably weakened,” Dudakov concluded