ArmInfo.There is no need to expect from the US new statements or actions in connection with the presence of the Armenian military contingent in Syria. Director of Center for Regional Studies Richard Kirakosyan expressed such opinion to ArmInfo.
"Analyzing the statement of the US Department of State, it can be concluded that it is based on the personal opinion of presidential adviser on national security John Bolton. And, accordingly, practically does not contain diplomatic messages to Yerevan. Sending the Armenian military to Syria gave rise to certain difficulties, but not problems relations with the US. In any case, this is evidenced by the rather strong support expressed recently by the US Congress to the new government of Armenia, "the analyst is convinced.
A statement issued on February 13 by the US Embassy in Armenia states that the US Department of State does not support either military or humanitarian cooperation with the Syrian army. At the same time, the State Department is sympathetic to the desire of other countries to respond to the humanitarian situation in Syria and shares concerns about the protection of religious minorities in the Middle East.
In this light, Kirakosyan regards Washington's rather aggressive reaction to sending Armenian specialists to Syria as addressed, rather, to Moscow and even Tehran but not to Yerevan. According to his estimates, this statement once again expressed its own intransigent position on Syria in general and Bashar al-Assad in particular. Against this background, according to analyst estimates, Moscow is committed to an even deeper and wider presence of the Armenian military in Syria. However, for Yerevan, the already existing humanitarian level is quite a weighty compromise. "In this light, the Armenian military needs to be extremely careful in order to avoid participation in any hostilities initiated by Moscow. Accordingly, clear signals sent by Yerevan about the humanitarian character of the Armenian mission in Syria are very important," the analyst concluded. On February 14, Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan told reporters that the humanitarian mission in Syria is carried out in accordance with the law. "There are certain geopolitical contradictions, but assistance to the Syrian people, part of which is the Armenian community, is necessary. This topic cannot be a reason for speculation," the Minister stressed.
A military contingent of 83 servicemen of the Armenian Armed Forces arrived on a humanitarian mission in Aleppo on February 8. According to the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan, Armenian specialists will carry out humanitarian activities related to demining, mine awareness of the population, provision of medical assistance in Aleppo, exclusively outside the zone of military operations.