The US authorities have recently started saying that they support not only "democratic values" in Armenia, but also the intention to break off relations with Russia. In Russia, such a game openly causes concern. Vestnik Kavkaza spoke with Alexander Perendzhiev about why the USA needs Armenia to part with its most important ally.
Alexander Perendzhiev is a military political scientist, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
- Alexander Nikolaevich, in your opinion, do the US have any global plans for Armenia?
- I think they do, and they can be realized due to how huge the US influence on Yerevan is. Moreover, in my opinion, we are talking not only about Armenia, but about a broader context — about the creation of an "anti-Russia" project in the post-Soviet space.
The GUAM organization still exists, though in a frozen form, and the West is trying to form an anti-Russia on its basis. The Western powers have well-known problems with this. Firstly, Uzbekistan left GUAM. Secondly, Azerbaijan pursues a fundamentally sovereign foreign policy and is constantly getting closer to Russia on many issues. Here, it is worth paying attention first of all to the interaction of Moscow, Baku and Tehran on the formation of the international transport corridor "North-South", which has nothing to do with the West. Thirdly, Georgia has begun a course for sovereignty, which the US perceived as a challenge for itself: Tbilisi does not want to become anti-Russia and open a second front. As a result, it seems that only Ukraine and Moldova remain.
However, the US decided to make a cunning move and instead of Azerbaijan, take Armenia to "work" with so that it becomes part of anti-Russia. There is another use for Yerevan - turning the republic into anti-Iran. Armenia, unlike Ukraine and Georgia, has no border with Russia, and the West is building the following configuration: Armenia should become anti-Russia together with Georgia, where it is necessary to change the government, and at the same time — also together with Georgia — become anti-Iran. The same plans of the West that cannot be implemented in Azerbaijan, which interacts not only with Russia but also with Türkiye, will be applied to Armenia. Türkiye, while remaining a NATO country, has serious economic ties with Russia and seeks to join the SCO and, possibly, BRICS. Western forces understand that they are, in a sense, losing Türkiye, as it is becoming increasingly independent in foreign policy. Therefore, Armenia has a third use — it should become anti-Türkiye. After all, Armenia has always been at odds with both Azerbaijan and, in a certain sense, Türkiye, so the US decided that Yerevan is an ideal regional player, capable of carrying out provocations against Iran, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan on demand. Anti-Azerbaijan is the fourth role for Armenia, whose importance for the West is growing as the North-South project is being implemented, which is a strategic artery for the formation of an alternative global economic model to the West, where Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and India occupy leading positions instead of Western countries. The Central Asian countries are joining this transport corridor, and ultimately this entire system is becoming an integral part of the interregional Chinese project "One Belt - One Road".
- It turns out that the West is trying to break Russian-Armenian ties not only for political but also for economic purposes?
- Exactly, since this is part of the Western opposition to the formation of a powerful system of transport arteries where there is no place for the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons are used to controlling sea routes, due to which they achieved control over transport communications. But now transport communications are being built that are completely independent of sea routes and controlled by the SCO countries, which, by the way, Azerbaijan wants to join for good reason. We are witnessing not so much a geopolitical as a geoeconomic confrontation.
It is important to emphasize that Russia, China, Iran, Azerbaijan, India do not set themselves the task of somehow opposing the West when they implement new transport corridors. It is the West that perceives them as a challenge to its geoeconomic interests, since they will bring large profits to the participants, among whom there are no Western states. And it is the West that seeks to resist these projects. Azerbaijan is at the intersection of transport arteries, and Western forces want to use Armenia, as well as Georgia, if they manage to subjugate it again, to counteract.
- Does Armenia have any real interest in playing such a destructive role?
- No. On the contrary, Armenia is extremely attracted to participation in both the North-South and the Azov-Black Sea transport corridor that is being formed, which runs into the Caspian Sea. After all, Armenia is still locked in some way: it has no access to the seas and two of its four borders are still closed. Armenia really needs the transport corridors that Russia and Azerbaijan are creating with other countries. They would allow it to breathe freely. Now, so to speak, it can not breathe freely. And the West plans to lock Armenia even more, so that it does not interact with either Russia or Iran.
Armenia's true national interest is mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Türkiye. But due to the enormous influence of the USA on Armenian politicians, a program is being implemented to turn all of the republic's neighbours into a hostile environment. Even Georgia, a state that is supposedly not hostile to Armenia, will inevitably become so due to the course towards sovereignty in its foreign policy: while Armenia is being made anti-Russia, Tbilisi, on the contrary, is getting closer to Moscow. Yerevan will have nowhere to escape from the "lock" closed on all sides.
In fact, the leadership of Armenia is leading its country, if not to the loss of sovereignty, then to actual imprisonment. It has been living under a blockade for many years, but has somehow managed to cope with it due to friendly ties with Russia, Iran and Georgia. The policy of subordination to the West leads Armenia to absolute isolation.
