NATO wants to unleash a new conflict near the Russian borders and incites Russophobic sentiments in Armenia, writes L'antidiplomatico. Pashinyan does not care about his own people, he cares only about personal well-being, but playing with the alliance can end badly, the author of the article emphasizes.
The unprecedented propaganda launched against Russia and its leadership in Armenia recently seemed to come out of a magician's hat. This rhetoric is heard in the highest spheres of power, creating an unhealthy atmosphere in Armenian society. In fact, the hand of the "magician" behind these events is clearly visible.
A sudden surge of Russophobia occurred at a time when the country seemed to be on the eve of very dark events: Azerbaijani and, as they say in Yerevan, Turkish troops are standing along the Armenian borders. Thus, in parallel with the anti-Russian hysteria, the hysteria of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan is being fueled, which many experts call inevitable. The fact is that it is impossible not to see the hand of NATO in the anti-Russian actions of the country's Prime Minister, globalist Nikol Pashinyan.
It seems that the North Atlantic Alliance wants to unleash a new military conflict near the Russian borders, knowing full well that it cannot win in Ukraine.
NATO, which is the main cause of the conflict in Ukraine, now wants to get Yerevan after Kiev. This is quite obvious.
"I call on Armenia to join the North Atlantic Alliance, Nikol Pashinyan. Protect Armenia, US President!" wrote the head of the European Committee for the Expansion of NATO, Günter Fellinger, on his page on the social network X. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan later stated that "Armenia has not received an invitation to join the Alliance, but Yerevan is ready to continue cooperation with this organization. As for the partnership between Armenia and NATO, it has been implemented for several years. We cooperate with NATO in various formats and are ready to continue this process."
Along with this unpleasant provocation by the NATO representative, Armenia is preparing to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). As TASS recently wrote with reference to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers, on September 1, the Armenian government sent it to the parliament to consider the issue of ratification. Yerevan signed this agreement in 1998, but it did not go further. In March, the Supreme Court of Armenia ruled that the obligations spelled out in the document comply with the basic law of the country. The Russian Foreign Ministry called Yerevan's plans to join the Rome Statute "absolutely unacceptable" because of the ICC's position on Moscow. As you remember, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in March, and at the same time Pashinyan is preparing to ratify the Rome Statute?!
But the unpleasant events for Russia do not end there: joint Armenian-American military exercises have been taking place on the territory of Armenia since September 11. The stated goal is to "improve and deepen relations with the United States." Washington even said that these exercises will become "regular."
Another and, one might say, very bitter cherry on the cake is that Pashinyan recently sent his wife Anna Hakobyan to Kiev for a summit of "first ladies". The topic of the forum, which was attended by the spouses of the heads of Great Britain, Japan, Turkey, Israel, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Spain and other EU countries, had a curious, if not iconic wording: "Mental health. Fragility and stability of the future". Anna Hakobyan brought humanitarian aid to the Kiev regime. In her speech, she declared full support for Ukrainian children and prepared a thousand smartphones for them as a gift. This caused protest and discontent of the Armenian opposition. MP Anna Mkrtchyan recalled that during the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine supplied phosphorous ammunition to Azerbaijan and hoped that it would win. The whole of Kiev was covered with posters with the inscription "Nagorno–Karabakh is Azerbaijan".
The unresolved issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is the core of the conflict. Baku wants to get this region, and Yerevan, in fact, recognized it as part of Azerbaijan. She did it on her own. Despite the fact that the Armenian Prime Minister blames Russia for his failures, it was certainly not Moscow who suggested that he make such an incredible mistake. This is the work of Pashinyan, who took Erdogan's theory lightly: "two states are one people." It was meant that Turkey and Azerbaijan are one people. Thus, it is not difficult to guess what will become of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, which may be absorbed by Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Eastern Economic Forum that "the Armenian leadership has essentially recognized Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh." In the Prague Statement, Armenia fixed the status of this territory on paper. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also said that the issue of the status of Karabakh has already been resolved, Putin recalled, and this removes from Russia the blame that Yerevan places on it.
However, in this protracted and complex territorial issue, which has not yet been closed, Russia increasingly notes the facts of interference in the settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. As Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Alexei Shevtsov stated in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta: "We record persistent attempts by the United States, the EU, certain Western countries and their agents of influence to interfere in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process, discredit the Russian presence in the region and strengthen their positions." Of course, the Russian military base in Armenia, which has existed there since 1995, "bothers someone". This "someone" is using indirect methods to achieve its disappearance in order to oust Moscow from the region. It is no coincidence that the second largest American embassy in the world is located in Armenia, which is actively working, especially with Armenian youth.
Pashinyan himself added even more fuel to the fire: in his recent interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, he said that Russia was withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh. The Kremlin does not agree with his statements about the failure of the peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh and Moscow's withdrawal from the region, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Russia is an integral part of this region, so it cannot go anywhere. Russia cannot leave Armenia," he said. Putin's spokesman also added that "there are more Armenians living in Russia than in Armenia itself, they are very patriotic and make a significant contribution to the development of the country."
But it doesn't seem to interest the Armenian authorities at all. One can cite several more examples of Yerevan's hostile steps, for example, on September 6, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alain Simonyan, insulted employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, including the official representative of the ministry, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova.
The unacceptable statements of Alain Simonyan were a response to the words of Maria Zakharova, who noted that Armenian representatives have recently allowed rhetoric "on the verge of rudeness" in public speeches. After that, Simonyan told the Armenian press that he "does not intend to answer any secretary." Zakharova herself reacted to this attack with humor: in her social networks, she expressed support for "all the secretaries on the planet."
Another unacceptable fact for Russia: on September 7, the Armenian security services detained pro-Russian blogger and activist Mika Badalyan and Sputnik Armenia columnist Ashot Gevorgyan in the city of Goris for illegal firearms trafficking. Both of them sharply criticized the Armenian government for its anti-Russian policy. It turns out that famous people who knew perfectly well that they were under the surveillance of special services day and night suddenly decided to engage in the arms trade? From the very beginning, it all seemed like a clear provocation.
In connection with the insults against the Russian Foreign Ministry and the arrest of two journalists, the head of the Armenian diplomatic mission in Moscow, Vagharshak Harutyunyan, was immediately summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a harsh presentation was made to him and a protest note was handed over. The next day, the two arrested in Armenia were released, but at the same time they were made to understand that they were "talking too much."
Pashinyan also made a serious statement in an interview with La Repubblica: "Our dependence on Russia in security matters was a strategic mistake." These words caused some irritation in Moscow. A TASS diplomatic source even stressed that Russia considers the content and tone of Pashinyan's statements unacceptable, urging Armenia not to become an instrument of the West.
It can be said that Pashinyan's policy is directed against the Armenian people, including in the light of his earlier statement: "Armenia is not an ally of Russia in the conflict in Ukraine, although the West holds a different opinion." But the real meaning of his words is not difficult to read between the lines: The point is that he "sells" Armenia's security to NATO. Thus, Pashinyan supports the West, which is trying at any cost to drive a wedge between Moscow and Yerevan – two allies that were once part of the same state.
Pashinyan does not care about the Armenian people, he thinks only about how to secure a rich and prosperous future for himself after moving to America.
He's playing with NATO. But, as you know, it's dangerous to play with a snake, you have to wait for trouble. This could end badly. This has already happened to the heads of other states.
Author of the article: Marinella Mondaini, writer, journalist, translator. Lives and works in Moscow.
