Russian political scientist: Armenian-American agreements are like  "selling smoke," allegedly intended to bolster Pashinyan`s electoral  position

ArmInfo.  US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Yerevan was primarily aimed at  supporting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the upcoming  parliamentary elections in Armenia on June 7, as stated by Malek  Dudakov, Russian political analyst specializing in American studies,  during a Moscow-Yerevan video conference on May 27.

In this context, the expert urged a closer look at the agreements  signed with Rubio, describing them as a form of "selling smoke".  According to Dudakov, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Charter  signed between the US and Armenia does not guarantee large-scale  American weapons supplies to Armenia.  As the expert clarified, it is  crucial to understand that transferring significant quantities of  weaponry requires "a piece of paper from Congress."

"In other words, the US Congress must still approve the sale of  specific armaments, particularly when it comes to sensitive  technologies such as fighter jets, precision-guided missiles, and air  defense systems.  While the Armenian authorities have a certain  number of lobbyists attempting to advocate for Armenia's interests in  Washington, one must realize there are circles there opposed to such  cooperation. First and foremost is the Turkish lobby, which will try  to block any such initiatives. Therefore, limited weapons supplies  are possible, but this would be done solely to support Pashinyan  ahead of the elections, nothing more. Given the limited capabilities  of the US and the depletion of its arsenals amid the confrontation  with Iran, Armenia is not a country that will receive these weapons  on a priority basis," the political analyst said.

In this vein,  Dudakov urged a critical assessment of the  negotiations regarding the transfer of small modular reactor (SMR)  technologies. He drew attention to the fact that these technologies  have not yet been properly mastered by the United States itself. "The  US still does not have a single constructed small modular reactor,  apart from a few test models. This means that, first of all, they  need to build something on their own territory before talking about  their readiness to export these technologies. In many ways, this is  also a kind of 'selling smoke' intended to help Pashinyan ahead of  the parliamentary elections. In this way, the US wants to demonstrate  a readiness to replace Russian nuclear energy and pre-emptively  secure positions for American startups in the global civilian nuclear  market, where Russia and China are currently the leaders," the  political analyst believes.

Although the expert believes Rubio's visit should initially be viewed  through the prism of the country's upcoming elections, he did not  rule out that the arrival was also driven by the ongoing standoff  with Iran.  As the expert explained, Armenia is important in this  regard as a country bordering Iran. "Rubio, in my opinion, is someone  who is trying to speed up the negotiation process. It's no  coincidence that he spent a long time in India before heading to  Armenia. He is visiting all those countries where the confrontation  with Iran negatively impacts their relations with the US. However, as  far as Armenia is concerned, the Iranian factor played a rather  secondary role," the political analyst noted.

Dudakov also pointedout that Rubio was the first US Secretary of  State to openly declare the world was becoming multipolar. A  multipolar world, Dudakov noted, is one in which the US lacks global  dominance.  "And as the new world is being built, the US is trying to  create problems for other poles, particularly Russia and China, in  order to strengthen its position in this new world order. The  confrontation with Iran in this context is also a blow to the  North-South logistics route. That is, it is an attempt to attack the  multipolar world. As we see, this attempt is failing so far.  Therefore, all their efforts are now also aimed at countering the  growing influence of Russia and China in the Transcaucasus. And in  this sense, Rubio's visit to Armenia can be viewed in this context as  well," the political scientist concluded.

Recall, Rubio visited Yerevan on May 26 for a short visit that lasted  about an hour. Three agreements were signed during the visit: the  TRIPP framework agreement, the Strategic Partnership Charter, and the  Memorandum of Understanding on Critical Natural Resources. Many  experts viewed this move by the American side as a pre-election  campaign to support Pashinyan's government in the upcoming  parliamentary elections.