ArmInfo.The break in Armenian-Russian relations could put Armenia in a very difficult situation. A member of the "Voice of the People" expert club, political scientist Arman Ghukasyan expressed a similar opinion at the meeting with journalists.
According to him, we all have before us the examples of Ukraine and Moldova, and it is not for nothing that Mikheil Saakashvili has been particularly active lately, giving advice to Pashinyan. "Unfortunatly, I have to say that in the direction in which the situation is developing, in the near future we will witness even more pronounced overt anti-Russian steps and actions," he said.
According to the political scientist, the anti-Russian policy of the Armenian leadership is not so much a conceptual change of paradigm, but rather an opportunity for the ruling team to maintain its power, because if previously it retained it thanks to accusations against the "former authorities", now, 5 years later, after a series of fateful failures, it became necessary to change the "accused".
According to the political scientist, the meeting in Granada was a defeat for Pashinyan, and his subsequent refusal to visit Bishkek, where he could meet with Vladimir Putin, only confirmed this defeat. It is clear that Aliyev received what he wanted from the West and confidently came to the Russian President, while Pashinyan continues to lose in the diplomatic field.
According to Ghukasyan, the basis of all this was laid by Prague, where Pashinyan recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. This was followed by a nine-month blockade, then we saw the prime minister's speech in Strasbourg, where Pashinyan once again tried to blame Russia for his failures. He then gave a famous interview to the Wall Street Journal, in which he once again complained about Russian peacekeepers and spoke about the future of Russian military bases in Armenia. After discrediting Russian peacekeepers and the loss of Artsakh, Pashinyan's team now aims to discredit the 102nd military base deployed in Gyumri with a view to withdrawing it in the future.
After all, what guarantees have we received from the West? Arman Ghukasyan asks. Military-technical assistance from France, which, according to the political scientist, is rather decorative in nature? The speaker noted that along with anti-Russianism, the thesis that we, Armenia, is moving towards the West is being actively circulated, but in fact we should say that we are moving towards the unknown, which will put our country in front of new challenges, risks and dangers.
At the same time, according to Ghukasyan, let's not forget that Russia is also important for Armenia economically. "Let's not forget about the presence of a large amount of Russian capital in Armenia and about the new jobs, about millions of transfers from Russia that support marostability, about supplies of inexpensive gas, investments, etc. The economic rails of our country lead to the market of Russia and the EAEU countries; in addition, RA receives $300 million annually from the common energy market of the EAEU only because it is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. So listing all this indicates that the West cannot be an alternative to Russia," Ghukasyan concluded.