For US, Pashinyan has secondary, third-rate status — Arthur Khachikian 

 
On February 3, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his wife left for the United States on an official visit, during which he participated in the 5th International Religious Freedom Summit, as well as the National Prayer Breakfast.

Today, Pashinyan met with US Vice President JD Vance, with the Armenian side being the only one that reported about this meeting. The photo posted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia shows tissues on the table and the US flag, but the Armenian flag is missing.

In an interview with Alpha News, political analyst Arthur Khachikian analyzed why President Donald Trump did not receive Nikol Pashinyan and why there was no flag of our country at the meeting with the vice president.

“The American media did not cover the Armenian prime minister’s visit to Washington, it is not written about anywhere, except for Armenian sources. This visit was prepared at the last minute, and no official meetings were scheduled. At the last minute, Nikol Pashinyan tried to use religious leaders and religious communities, some of which are sects, to find contacts in the Trump administration. However, he failed to meet with Donald Trump as the country’s leader and official. He had the opportunity to take a picture with the vice president, but we don’t see any results in this picture. He likes to take pictures; he also took a picture with Erdogan, took pictures in Moscow,” the political scientist noted.

According to Khachikian, this shows that Nikol Pashinyan is a secondary official for the American side; otherwise, Trump would have met with him.

“According to the diplomatic protocol, the first person in this country must meet with the first person of any state. The meeting with the vice president means that Pashinyan has a secondary, even a third-rate status,” Arthur Khachikian added.

The political scientist noted that even after the document on the strategic partnership between Armenia and the United States, Armenia did not receive any official visit or meeting. Khachikian also asked a rhetorical question: does anyone even understand the foreign policy pursued by this government?

“Do you understand anything about the foreign policy pursued by this government? One day they go to Moscow, apologize for what they said, and the next day they go to Washington and say negative things about Russia again. What kind of foreign policy is this?” Arthur Khachikian said. 

The political scientist noted that Israel, as an ally, will help Azerbaijan resolve the issue of the so-called “Zangezur corridor” as soon as possible.

“It is quite possible that now Israel, which has absolute influence in Washington, can, at the request of Azerbaijan, resolve the issue of Zangezur in the interests of Azerbaijan and Turkey, since they are the closest allies of the United States,” Arthur Khachikian stressed.