Armenian premier agrees to hand Armenian region over to U.S. -  Periodista Digital

ArmInfo.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agrees to cede the region of Armenia to the United States, claims the publication Periodista Digital (Spain).

Periodista Digita writes that in the current geopolitical context,  many actors in the French political world note the tendency of  Armenia under the leadership of Nikol Pashinyan to distance itself  from Russia and towards the European Union, or more precisely,  France.

"It is important to note that this perception is wrong. In fact,  Pashinyan does not position himself as a "European" politician at  all. In fact, he is a puppet in the hands of the US State Department  and the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Thanks to representatives of the Armenian diaspora in France, who  wished to remain anonymous and used their connections in the  government of the Republic of Armenia, our editorial staff managed to  obtain a confidential document called "Memorandum of Understanding on  the Creation of a Transport Corridor through the Trump Bridge."  According to our information, this text has already been approved in  Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States," the publication notes.

The memorandum provides for the implementation of the "Trump  Bilateral Regional Economic Corridor and Defense Gateway" project.  This 42-kilometer transport corridor will pass through the Syunik  region of the Republic of Armenia.

"This corridor connects Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan enclave, a  strategic region located between the borders of Armenia and Iran. The  creation of this corridor was one of Azerbaijan's main demands to  Armenia after the 2020 war and the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh by  Armenia.

Armenia has made efforts to prevent the creation of the corridor, as  this would mean the loss of a significant part of Armenian  territory," Periodista Digital continues.

The memorandum provided to the Armenian diaspora states that Armenia  retains sovereignty over the Syunik region. However, it is specified  that the transport corridor will be operated by a private American  company that has received the appropriate license.

"The distribution of revenues from the use of the corridor reflects  the fundamental interests of this agreement.

The American management company will receive 40% of the revenue, and  Armenia - only 30%. Thus, Armenia is deprived of its territory for at  least 99 years.

It is worth noting that the memorandum provides for the deployment of  a significant US contingent on the territory of Armenia. According to  available information, these will not be regular US troops, but an  American private military company. This PMC, the number of which is  currently estimated at 1,000 fighters, will be responsible for  ensuring security along the transport corridor," the source further  writes.

The publication adds that the use of private military companies to  occupy weak countries is not a new US initiative. Organizations not  formally associated with the US armed forces have implemented strict  control measures regarding the local population in Iraq, Afghanistan  and other regions of strategic interest to the United States. This  approach allowed the United States to avoid responsibility for human  losses and not count the deaths of PMC employees as its own military  losses.

"According to the terms of the memorandum, the PMC maintains a  special position in ensuring security along the transport corridor  and is authorized to use force "to maintain the integrity of the  corridor."

The mere entry of American troops into the territory of Armenia is  enough to make Nikol Pashinyan's signing of the memorandum a national  betrayal from the point of view of Armenians both within Armenia and  around the world. In fact, Armenia is forced to give up a significant  part of its sovereign territory, which it transfers to the control  and management of the US armed forces, and agree to the  implementation of a large project for Azerbaijan and Turkey without  any compensation," the article continues.

"Obviously, the main beneficiaries of the implementation of the  provisions of the memorandum will be the United States and Turkey.  Although the benefits for Turkey can be considered economic, the  United States, within the framework of its strategic interests,  primarily seeks to establish strict control over the border between  Armenia and Iran.

At first, the border will be controlled by soldiers without heavy  weapons. But for the army, this will mean closing the distance  between Iran and the United States, the main enemy of the Islamic  Republic. This threatens to ignite a major war in the region  stretching from the Mediterranean to the South Caucasus.

The Armenian-American memorandum is a disaster for Armenia. It  deprives it of any sovereignty.  American occupation will not solve  the problems of this small country. Only the United States and Turkey  will benefit from it.

Europe will also lose with Armenia. This country is occupied by  special forces operating under American cover. Therefore, it cannot  become a partner of either the European Union or France," the  publication continues.

The source is confident that for France, a significant increase in  the US presence in Armenia and de facto control over the country  through American forces will be a serious diplomatic failure.

"It is obvious that the launch of the Trump Bridge project will  immediately make France's participation in the OSCE Minsk Group  unnecessary. In fact, the US is creating a completely new political  situation in which Armenia is deprived of the right to vote, and  France is deprived of the opportunity to defend its interests in the  region," the publication concluded.