Friday, February 22 2019 15:30

ArmInfo.Armenia's Syrian mission is another example of the successful foreign policy  maneuvering by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his team. Such an  opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by Russian analyst, expert on the  Caucasus Sergey Markedonov.  To note, the military contingent of the  Armed Forces of Armenia deployed in Syria on February 8 is actually  within the Russian group.

"Naturally, Washington does not support Yerevan's Syrian initiative,  the same way it does not support the cooperation of Armenia and  Russia to fulfill this mission.  "However, the United States did not  criticize Yerevan for its involvement in military missions in Kosovo,  Iraq and Afghanistan, because all these missions were carried out  without Moscow's participation. Washington continues to play a  leading role in determining the geopolitical situation, "he stressed.

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.   According to the analyst, the mission of Armenia to Syria,  objectively contributing to the strengthening of the Russian-Armenian  strategic relations, was duly appreciated in Moscow. Thus, according  to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, "Armenia was the first to  respond to our call for assistance to the Syrian people." Armenia's  position especially close to the position of Russia, stands out  against the background of much more cautious positions of other CSTO  countries.

"The actions of Yerevan are aimed to overcome the recurring  difficulties in understanding mutual motivation, to strengthen trust  between Russia and Armenia. Of course, this is primarily due to the  rather powerful psychological effect that the "velvet revolution" in  Armenia had on Moscow. Pashinyan and his team also seek to enlist  Russia's support in the Karabakh settlement. And of course, by  supporting Russia in Syria, Armenia is trying, as far as possible, to  support compatriots still living in this country,'' Markedonov  concluded.  The military contingent of the Armed Forces of Armenia  consisting of 83 servicemen 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.