ArmInfo.Regretfully, the decisions of crucial importance for Armenia are made obeying the will of one person rather than are based on geopolitical analyses by specialized thinks tanks, Hovsep Khurshudyan, Chairman of the Free Citizen NGO, told ArmInfo.
"For example, Nikol Pashinyan made a decision on dispatch of our troops to Kazakhstan as a result of just one phone call - all by himself. He made that snap decision with a receiver in his hand. So, in a certain mood, he is capable of making Armenia even more dependent on Russia and just sending our country outside the orbit of the West," the expert said.
According to him, should the West's role, which is balancing out Russia in the South Caucasus, be diminished, it would prove seriously detrimental to Armenia. Among other things, in the context of restoration of its territorial integrity, settlement of the issue of a "corridor" via Syunik, border demarcation, etc.. Meanwhile, relative regional balance between Russia and the West has so far been sustained - especially after the Biden Administration came to power in the USA.
According to the expert, the pro-Armenian bills and resolutions recently approved in the USA and Europe have afforded Armenia opportunities for maneuvering. However, due to Yerevan's pro-Russian decisions on Kazakhstan, these opportunities are being seriously limited. The greatest threat is possible additional territorial and "corridor"-related risks for Armenia.
In its turn, Moscow is using "hybrid diplomacy" and a policy toward Armenia, which is rather similar to its policy toward Ankara, its only goal being to alienate both the states from the West and cause their leaders' relations with Washington and Brussels to deteriorate. The difference is that Russia has to pay to Turkey, and the cost is rather heavy - for example, by supplying S-400 missile systems and constructing an NPP at Akkuyu. Meeanwhile, Armenia is worsening its relations with the West "free of charge" by being involved in Russia's operations in Kazakhstan.
"We, to be precise, our authorities, are responsible for this situation. They have accustomed the Kremlin to their being willing to obey any orders by the Kremlin. But I cannot understand what Armenia's incumbent authorities are obeying these orders for after they proved their being legitimate not long ago, last June. The authorities having rather solid domestic grounds are capable of being much more independent in their foreign policy. I cannot see any objective reasons for the incumbent Armenian authorities to obediently implement Moscow's projects at the expense of their own reputation in the civilized world," Mr Khurshudyan said.