Diplomat: European Political Community Summit in Yerevan could be  strategic mistake for Armenian Authorities

ArmInfo.  Nikol Pashinyan began his prime ministerial term in 2018 with a high-level summit of heads of Francophone states in Yerevan, and it's quite possible he'll  conclude it with the European Political Community summit. What was  intended as a domestic political stimulus could turn out to be a  strategic mistake, writes former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan  Oskanyan.

The diplomat is confident that Pashinyan has never seen foreign  policy as a tool for protecting the country's interests. He claims  that his careless, abrupt, and pointless foreign policy programs were  aimed solely at winning favor with domestic audiences. "As a result,  instead of pursuing a balanced and thoughtful policy in a country in  such a vulnerable position as Armenia, Pashinyan has proclaimed  himself 'the one leading Armenia to Europe.' However, while this  superficial 'program' was believed just a few years ago, today it is  already obvious that Armenia has not taken a single step closer to  Europe, but has instead become a battlefield for geopolitical  confrontation. Armenia has nothing to gain in this 'struggle.' The  only interests are those of the government, which hopes to achieve  European silence in exchange for anti-Russian policies and  anti-democratic steps," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Oskanyan emphasized that over the past eight years, citizens have  already realized that as a result of this policy, Armenia has lost  its security system, suffered enormous losses, and received nothing  in return. He added that the current Armenian government has failed  to achieve any results from European officials, even on the issue of  visa liberalization. "Yes, Armenia should maintain close ties with  the European Union. But this government has proven that it has made  no progress in this direction either. For them, the only 'European'  behavior is anti-Russianism, the price for which the average citizen  will pay, without bringing Armenia even a millimeter closer in  content or values," the diplomat asserted.

In this context, he added, the European Political Community summit,  with its agenda, the statements to be adopted, and the presence of  figures like Volodymyr Zelenskyy, could further highlight the  imbalance of Armenia's foreign policy, deepening concerns about the  negative economic and security implications of such a course of  action.

"Therefore, it is becoming increasingly clear to every voter in  Armenia that, a month after the summit, every vote cast for Pashinyan  could harm Armenia's security and economic stability," he concluded.