Monday, April 8 2024 18:23

ArmInfo.Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) party Levon Zurabyan proved in  numbers the failure of the Western-oriented policy of the current authorities of Armenia.

Thus, commenting on the results of the meeting of Prime Minister of  Armenia Nikol Pashinyan with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and  President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on April 5  in Brussels, Zurabyan drew parallels in numbers between the policies  of the first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan and the current  leadership of the Republic of Armenia, inviting the reader to  independently draw conclusions about whether this meeting was a  "failure" or a "historic turnaround." Thus, the deputy chairman of  the ANC noted that on July 9, 2021, the European Union announced that  it was ready to provide assistance to Armenia in the amount of 2.6  billion euros (3.1 billion US dollars) over the next five years.  Meanwhile, already on April 5, during the Pashinyan-Blinken-von der  Leyen meeting, it became known that three years after this decision,  the EU and the United States promise to provide Armenia with 270  million euros and 65 million US dollars, respectively, over four  years, that is, in total the complexity of the assistance will amount  to about 360 million US dollars. "In fact, the collective West not  only did not fulfill the promise made earlier, but also reduced the  amount by more than 10 times," Zurabyan noted.

"The question becomes more interesting in light of the assertion of  the Pashinyan team and its "pro- Western" supporters that since 1991  Armenia has adopted the "wrong orientation" and therefore has not  received adequate support from the West.

The fact is that in the nineties, during the years of Ter-Petrosyan  governance, Armenia received assistance from the United States of  America, in particular,  $110 million: in 1993, $191 million: in  1994,  $217 million: in 1995, $292 million: in 1996, $166 million: in  1997 . Add to this the assistance received from the European Union  under the TACIS program, which in total exceeds $1 billion," the  politician added.

At the same time, he contrasted that in order to compare the  assistance provided to Armenia in the 1990s with the promises made in  2024, the dollar exchange rate should also be taken into account.  According to him, the value of one American dollar in 1993-1997 is  equal to today's 2 dollars.  "In other words, even if the announced  promises come true, and the West provides assistance to Armenia over  the next four years, if we take the dollar exchange rate of the early  1990s as a guide, this amount will be only $180 million.

What happens? Having adopted the "wrong orientation" in 1991 (in  fact, pursuing a balanced policy with the West and Russia), Armenia  received 5.5-flod more support from the West in five years than what  the West only promises to give in eight years (from 2021). So, is  this a failure for us or an unprecedented historical turn? I think  the answer is obvious," Zurabyan noted.

At the same time, the deputy chairman of the ANC pointed out the  inappropriateness of criticizing the West, since in this situation it  is doing what it can and considers appropriate for itself. "We just  need to very soberly assess the capabilities and desire of the West  to help us. This is a criticism of Pashinyan's government and the  "false pro-Westerners" who selflessly support it, who deceive our  people in order to cover up their own failures and, solely for the  sake of personal gain, promise mountains of gold and a bright future  in case of a "historical turn" towards the West.