Thursday, May 2 2024 15:13

ArmInfo. Suspicious, manipulative processes are taking place in Armenia: the authorities stigmatize all  those who speak out about the existing problems. Critics of the government are portrayed as warmongers. Naturally, it is clear that everyone wants peace, but the question is: where are the  international guarantees? Political scientist Arman Ghukasyan said at  the meeting with journalists.

According to him, Armenia and Azerbaijan decided to begin the process  of delimitation and demarcation, but in fact this process is nothing  more than unilateral concessions by the Armenian side and there are  no guarantees that Azerbaijan will fulfill the general agreements.

"These authorities were dissatisfied with the Russian Federation and  refused the mediation of the Russian side, but I do not see that  there is Western mediation in this process. That is, there are no  international guarantees and it is not clear why the Armenian  authorities are so confident that Baku will fulfill its agreements,  and that delimitation and demarcation shall be, and peace shall  prevail. This is a very dubious process, and in the absence of  international guarantees, it does not inspire confidence at all,  given the traditional actions of the Azerbaijani side," he said.

As Ghukasyan pointed out, global changes are taking place in the  world; within the framework of geopolitical processes, some  international roads and communications are becoming irrelevant,  others, on the contrary, are becoming more relevant, for example, the  North-South road through the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus in  general is becoming interesting in this sense.  According to the  political scientist, in the current realities, Armenia should look  for its interest in this, have the opportunity to maximize it, and  not allow some countries to try to promote their interests at the  expense of Armenia, as is happening today.

"Today's actions of the RA authorities, and perhaps a not entirely  correct perception of the processes, give reason to think that we  are, to put it mildly, not in the best position. I see that Turkiye  and Azerbaijan, as well as some countries, foreign policy forces are  trying to solve their problems through interests of Armenia. And if  we are talking about delimitation and demarcation processes, then  they should have started on both sides, but we still see a one-sided  process, which gives reason to believe that the process is happening  at our expense, because it is not implemented in an equitable  manner," he noted.  Regarding Armenian-Russian relations, Ghukasyan  noted that the RA authorities, while creating problems in the  political path, nevertheless perfectly understand the benefits of the  economic side, and that the Russian market, as well as the EAEU,  today really do not have an alternative for Armenia.

"We see that the Armenian side participates in summits and other  meetings regarding the EAEU, and the most surprising thing is that  among government officials there is an opinion that the economic and  political can be separated. This is fundamentally wrong, it is not  and cannot be that Armenia, for example, leaves the CSTO, and it does  not affect the economy, this is impossible, and this is a very  dangerous course: it is impossible to save the economy by rejecting  politics," he emphasized. "Today, a very polarized situation has  developed in the political and expert field of Armenia. There are  circles that say that there are no problems or issues in  Armenian-Russian relations, that they are artificial, and there are  circles that, on the contrary, blame Russia for everything," he said.

"I think that problems have arisen in relations between Armenia and  Russia not only because of the wrong orientation and wrong policy of  the Armenian side, but also because of due to natural causes, taking  into account changing geopolitical and regional realities. And in  this sense, naturally, there is something to work on: there must be a  dialogue, a clear and transparent dialogue to raise these issues, so  that the pressing issues and how they can be resolved are clear.  Unfortunately, I do not see such a process from the Armenian side,  but, again, it is natural that such issues arise, because the  interests of the Russian Federation are changing in the region. We  need to understand what exactly Russia wants from the region, we need  to understand that Armenian-Russian relations are moving to a new  level, and we need to understand what it can give us. But there is no  dialogue and, to put it mildly, this is bad," he said.

According to the political scientist, in the current harsh realities,  Armenia should be guided in its actions first of all by its own state  and national interests. Ghukasyan is confident that with the right  diplomacy, Armenia could diversify its relations without harming  relations with Russia.  "It is obvious that diversification should  not be carried out to the detriment of third parties, including to  the detriment of Armenian-Russian relations. Although today this is  exactly what we are seeing, and the authorities are doing it in a  rather cruel way. So in this sense, serious work remains to be done.  I think that in the near future Armenia will find itself in an even  more turbulent state, as global processes will accelerate, the world  will become even more unstable and this will affect our region. And  in this situation, the course of the Armenian authorities is very  dangerous for the stability of Armenia itself, because the policy of  diversification, carried out at the expense of what we have, carries  threats and already brings problems. Yes, everyone strives for peace,  but can we achieve peace in this logical construction? I seriously  doubt it," Ghukasyan emphasized.

He also added that Armenia must resolve all issues with its ally  Russia through dialogue and within the framework of the new reality,  thereby forming a new level of Armenian-Russian relations.