Pressure on Church is blow to Armenia’s identity – Georgy Asatryan

Speaking with Alpha News, Georgy Asatryan, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy at the Higher School of Economics, commented on the reasons behind the United States’ increased activity in the South Caucasus and the detention of priests in Armenia.

According to the expert, every US administration always has one priority: to strengthen and enhance its influence in the post-Soviet region, because it is in close proximity to Russia.

“For them, the post-Soviet area is a place where Russia has always had a strong historical position—ever since the days of the Soviet Union. The US is systematically working in this direction. Speaking of the South Caucasus, there’s another aspect to consider: Iran. I saw footage from the summit, and it felt like a simulation all over again. Trump, apparently, didn’t even know who Armenia’s leader was. But he knew Aliyev—and that says a lot. This shows that Trump has a serious, more solid attitude toward Ilham Aliyev. Apparently, there are certain economic interests, including those related to Iran and, of course, Israel. In this sense, Armenia is once again not at the table, but on it. As I’ve already said: Armenia is not a participant, but an object. They’re playing around with it as best they can, thanks to the completely ineffective and absurd political elite of modern Armenia,” Asatryan said.

Addressing the arrests of priests in Armenia, the expert emphasized that such processes have never led to anything good—only to depopulation, reduced economic growth, and the destruction of society.

“This is immoral. Priests cannot be touched, they cannot be arrested unless there have been obvious, serious crimes. At the same time, it is clear that the political class in Armenia today is fighting against the very foundations of statehood, against the very foundations of the state itself. Attacks are being launched against all aspects of identity—national identity, traditional values, and everything associated with them are being eradicated. This is a neoliberal project, a neoliberal plan that drives nations and societies toward decline and degradation. Such processes have never produced positive results anywhere—only depopulation, reduced economic growth, and the destruction of society, especially in such a complex region as the South Caucasus,” Asatryan said.