Pashinyan: "There is a lack of Response from the US to the Unprecedented Revolution in Armenia"
In a speech in the national parliament on March 28, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan criticized the US for its alleged lack of response to the Armenian revolution last year. "The United States is positioning itself as the greatest promoter of democracy. I would like to ask how the US has responded to the unprecedented democratic changes in Armenia? Nobody can doubt that these changes were substantively democratic. And how did they react? I told the US officials that I think that there was a lack of reaction", Pashinyan said.
In the past, the Armenian Prime Minister already expressed his disappointment towards the West. In July 2018, he criticized the EU's attitude towards the postrevolutionary Republic of Armenia. "After our revolution, we heard many positive statements, especially from the European Union. In practice, however, there have been no noticeable changes in the policy so far. This means that the EU policy towards Armenia has remained as it was three or four months ago. We think that one must either lower the level of enthusiasm in his statements, or change his policies substantially", the Armenian head of government was quoted by Azatutyun.
In his speech on March 28, the head of the Armenian government also emphasized that Armenian sovereignty was very important to him. "If we say that state sovereignty is important to us, it does not mean that we will trade dependency on factor A for dependency on factor B", he said.
The Prime Minister denied the allegations that Armenia had suffered a defeat within the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) under his leadership. On the contrary, Pashinyan believes that respect for his country has even grown within the CSTO. The fact that Armenia had to give up the post of secretary-general of the CSTO earlier than scheduled (Caucasus Watch reported) was not relevant to Pashinyan's assessments.
The head of government has also defended the Armenian foreign deployment to Syria. This decision was taken with regard to the sovereignty and the historical mission of Armenia, Pashinyan said. While there are certain [foreign policy] risks in making this decision, it is likely to increase Armenia's sovereignty and international autonomy, the PM believes.
Armenia sent 83 paramedics, mine clearance experts and other military personnel on 8 February as part of a humanitarian mission to Syria requested by the Syrian government. The Armenian Ministry of Defense said military personnel were stationed in and around the war-torn city of Aleppo to help civilians and remove landmines. It was emphasized that these "humanitarian activities" are conducted only in areas that are "pacified".The ministry also stated that the soldiers had been taken to Syria to serve "with the support of Russia".
In February 2019, the US embassy in Yerevan had expressed the critical attitude of the US authorities to the Armenian mission in the Arab country.