Kaja Kallas is playing a game that is beyond her authority and capabilities: Stanislav Mitrakhovich

Stanislav Mitrakhovich , political analyst and economist, commented to Alpha News on the words of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas regarding the European Union’s desire to send a “hybrid rapid response group” to Armenia to protect Armenian democracy from external influence.

“It is interesting that when the European Union believes that forces skeptical of the EU may come to power in a given country, external interference turns out to be acceptable, yet when the EU believes that forces oriented toward different political positions may come to power, such interference is deemed inadmissible. Interesting double standards. It is also worth noting that Armenia’s leadership is not solely oriented toward the European Union, there are still residual ties with Russia, and there is also the involvement of the American administration in the deal concerning the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and the Trump corridor. This rather brazen desire by the EU to control elections in Armenia may meet with incomprehension not only from Russia, but from the United States as well. It seems to me that this is yet another case of Kaja Kallas attempting to play a game that is beyond the scope of her authority and capabilities,” the expert believes.

Commenting on the phone call between Putin and Pashinyan that took place following Kallas’s remarks, Mitrakhovich noted that official Yerevan cannot ignore Russia’s position across various aspects of their relationship.

“Regarding the Putin-Pashinyan call, there is a constraining factor for Armenia when it comes to its orientation toward the EU. There is the factor of geography, there is the established trade framework, there is Armenia’s participation in the EAEU, there is the CSTO, none of this can be dismantled all at once. There are migration ties, personal ties, family ties, and therefore national policy requires some balancing of interests. So, for all of Pashinyan’s aspirations toward Euro-Atlantic goals, he will have to reckon with the factors mentioned above, and for that reason, among others, he will take Putin’s views on all these matters into account as a counterbalance,” the Alpha News interlocutor concluded.

Details in the video.