US intends to gradually push Russia out of Armenia, expert says

Vladimir Vasiliev, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented to Alpha News on the visit to Armenia of the US Secretary of State’s Senior Advisor for Negotiations in the Caucasus, Louis Bono.

According to the expert, the United States intends to do everything to separate Armenia from Russia.

“I think that the US, or at least the leaders of the State Department, do not have thoughtful, sufficiently calculated plans for what to do in Transcaucasia and what policy to pursue towards Armenia. But one thing is certain: The United States intends to do everything in its power to separate Armenia from Russia, weaken Armenia’s ties with Russia, and create such a favorable condition that it will gradually push Russia out of Armenia. In this regard, a very difficult question arises: How will the US position itself in relation to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,” Vasiliev said.

“I have the feeling that the Americans can now take the side of Armenia and Pashinyan’s side in terms of the demands or the positions that Pashinyan takes. There is a very important consideration here related to the fact that Azerbaijan is closely connected with Turkiye and Erdogan, and the role that Erdogan is now playing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not really satisfy the United States. Therefore, in this case, it might not really want the strengthening of Erdogan and the strengthening of Turkiye,” the expert noted.

According to Vasiliev, the United States needs the Armenian diaspora to be active in American domestic policy.

“The United States needs the Armenian diaspora to be more supportive of the administration of US President Joe Biden. Surely, this support implies the strengthening of anti-Russian sentiments and declarative steps related to supporting Armenia. The United States can allocate certain funds to economically support Armenia.

It is very important for the US to show that it is the only or one of the important channels of economic assistance for Armenia. It can become a part of American policy, and it does not create a big burden on the US budget or anything else. I think that today the most essential thing for Americans is to separate Armenia from Russia, to strengthen anti-Russian sentiments, not anti-Azerbaijani ones,” Vasiliev concluded.