Saturday, October 27 2018 15:15

ArmInfo.The first results of Nikol Pashinyan's foreign policy are worrying, the Former Minister of Defense of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan wrote on his Facebook page.  He, in  particular, noted that 6 months, especially in the  "post-revolutionary" conditions, is a short period.  They can still  point to the "old" authorities and "their conspiracies'', the society  can still be asked for indulgence, referring to the "inexperience of  the team. 

The former minister of defense also noted that everyone is familiar  with the feeling when after a few minutes it becomes obvious that the  film being watched becomes uninteresting. "Unfortunately," New  Armenia's" foreign policy resembles such an uninteresting and  annoying film. I write these words to Pashinyan against the  background of his American fiasco, which became clear during  presidential Adviser on National Security John Bolton's visit to  Armenia. For the first time the goal of Armenian - US dialogue was  informing of one side about the benefits of the other rather than  mutual interests. It seemed that Bolton was not an Adviser to the US  president, but an adviser to the Prime Minister of Armenia, who  turned out to advice what to do and what not to do. It was only  unclear why the Prime Minister did not recall the statement made by  him in Moscow - not to interfere in each other's internal politics,  "the former Defense Minister wrote.

Sargsyan also summarized the visit of Bolton. "Armenia should get rid  of its '' historical patterns''. Bolton actually repeated not only  the statements of Azerbaijan that Armenia itself was to blame for its  blockade, but justified Turkey for closed borders, for Ankara's  support for Azerbaijan in the Karabakh issue. In addition, he also  noted that Armenia not only should not expect assistance from the  United States, but even investments, "Sargsyan stressed. As the  former Minister of Defense noted, in the best case, investments may  come from representatives of the Armenian community of the United  States.

Sargsyan also wrote that in the words of Bolton that Armenia,  finally, should become self-consistent and independent, bearing in  mind the relations of Yerevan with Washington. Obviously, this  concerned the strategic relations of Armenia with Russia. "The United  States does not deny that they sold and will probably sell weapons to  Azerbaijan. If you wish, you can switch from Russian weapons to  American ones, but the US is absolutely not interested in how much it  will cost the Armenian budget. As for Iran, Armenia has no  alternative than applying US sanctions. A statement was made from the  territory of Iran, a neighboring and friendly state, that the circle  around Iran is narrowing. Of course, this is a very tactful reminder  of partnership relations with Armenia, "the former defense minister  noted .

Sargsyan stressed that from the point of view of diplomacy, it is  important not only the content of statements, but also circumstances  such as time and place, and until recently, the partners of Armenia  were very attentive during meetings with Armenian colleagues in the  territory of Armenia, as well as in the matters of statements related  to neighbors and allies of the country. "What exactly has freed their  hands in" New Armenia "? I hope not "black counter-revolutionaries ",  and not" proud people "," the former defense minister said.

The former minister said he did not know what was said behind closed  doors. But, based on what is in the open press, "one can guess and be  horrified by how in just 6 months we have turned from a country  leading a balanced policy into a country in which foreign diplomats  do not even think about the interests of Armenia. " " I don't think  that Bolton's wording has anything to do with the Karabakh  negotiation process.  Usually these statements are made before the  meeting and even before the visit. Consequently, these approaches  reflect the position of the United States in response to the change  of power in Armenia and the new foreign policy arising from it, "the  politician noted. Sargsyan said that being involved in all  international meetings of the Armenian leadership for 15 years, he  does not remember a single case when American partners would call  into question the strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia.  "But I remember the special call of Vice President Joe Biden to  President Sargsyan, in which the latter noted that the United States  is receptive to the decision of Armenia to enter the EAEU ", Sargsyan  stated.  "What gives Bolt reason to think that it is possible to  speak with Armenia in the language of" concessions,in exchange of  open borders. "I hope not the speech of Prime Minister's wife Anna  Hakobyan on the Artsakh border. Bullets cannot be turned into jewels,  bullets and weapons are needed at the border, they are needed for the  state , independence and security, even in the safest country,  especially in our region. Challenges to our security do not begin  with Artsakh and do not end there, "the former minister said.

As for the American and Russian weapons, the former defense minister  noted that Russian weapons, which are not inferior in quality to the  American ones, Armenia bought from Russia at domestic price, being a  CSTO country on favorable terms, besides the country has the  necessary technical base for weapon service.  According to the former  Minister of Defense, in order to properly apply for weapons, it is  advisable to buy them from one country. "And another equally  important question regarding Russia is why should it give or sell  weapons to Armenia at a reduced price if Armenia purchases it at a  market price in another country? I have no doubt that Bolton was very  aware of all this," Sargsyan said.

According to the former minister, in the words of Trump's  representative there was not an offer to Armenia to buy American  weapons, but an excuse for selling weapons to Azerbaijan. And in  matters of servicing American weapons, Azerbaijan will be helped by  Turkey, which has a lot of experience in this.  "Meanwhile, I wonder  if Bolton will call on Azerbaijan to become 'independent', implying  its strategic cooperation with Turkey," Sargsyan asked.

The former minister stressed that the US sanctions against Iran are  not the first in these relations, and Armenia has always managed to  find a balance while maintaining friendly relations with Iran and the  requirements of international law. "The American partners always  approached our vital interests with understanding. From the  statements on the visit, and not only, we learned that in the near  future Armenia could be involved in anti-Iranian policy, which poses  a threat not only to Armenia, but also to the entire region" Sargsyan  said, associating with this the statement of Pashinyan about the  revelation of drug dealers in Syunik.

Sargsyan stressed that representatives of the American administration  were often stingy regarding the assessment of the Armenian Genocide.  "Sometimes they called on Armenia to continue efforts to restore  relations, for which they highly appreciated the efforts and  political will of the Armenian leadership. But instead of calling on  Turkey to recognize its history, as President Obama did in Ankara,  Bolton's call on Armenia to break free of "historical patterns" is a  new and undesirable phenomenon for us in the US policy. I am sure  that the Armenian communities of the USA and the lobbyist structures  will mark this, "the former minister stressed, wondering what was  Armenia's interest in Bolton's visit to Armenia. "We should ask Nikol  Pashinyan about this. I could not see it in the public part of the  visit," Sargsyan stressed.

"Mr. Pashinyan does not put blame for the failures in foreign policy  on those involved in this field. They are not revolutionaries and not  counter-revolutionaries. When taking important decisions, they should  be listened to, and not the adventurers who build barricades on the  streets and divide society into black and white. The mistakes made in  this area are difficult to overcome. Basically, you are responsible  for foreign policy. In this area you are constantly destroying what  has been created for decades. If you don't immediately correct the  situation, the possibilities of professionals will continue huddle,  as in the last six months. Of course, it's good that you are trying  to be accessible to people, but your ministers, ambassadors and  advisers are people too. Receive them and listen to them, "concluded  Sargsyan.