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Armenian PM seeks to shoot two birds with one stone

01 October 2019 [10:37] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is cooperating with George Soros and Western circles while his country heavily depends on Russia for its existence.

Recently, Pashinyan has been trying to distance himself from rumors that he is linked to US philanthropist George Soros in an attempt not to anger its closest strategic ally Moscow.

During a recent visit to Los Angeles on 23 September, Pasinyan told reporters that he has declined George Soros’ invitation to meet him due to busy schedule. This was the second time the Armenian PM was allegedly refusing to meet Soros.

Earlier, Pashinyan stated that Soros asked to meet him in January 2019. The billionaire wanted to meet with Pashinyan on the sidelines of the Davos forum. Pashinyan said that his work schedule was very busy, and it was not possible to satisfy his request for a meeting.

The reasons for the refusals are not linked to the workload of the Armenian PM; they have to do with the political calculations aimed at appeasing Moscow, Armenia’s main supporter and ally. Pashinyan is afraid of provoking Russia by his meetings with Soros.

On the other hand, by turning down Soros’ offer twice, Pashinyan annoys the pro-Western forces in Armenia. His lack of bravery will not go unnoticed by the European partners. It is noteworthy, that the Western media are already beginning to write cautiously about the defeat of the West in Armenia, against the background of Pashinyan’s announcement about his refusal to meet Soros.

If Pashinyan is really trying to shoot two birds with one stone, he should not tell reporters about his refusals to meet Soros. However, with his statement, Pashinyan once again showed the public that he is not a smart politician.

Meanwhile, Pashinyan addressed a rally in Los Angeles on September 22. The event had been announced a long time ago, and the Armenian Diaspora and Diplomatic Mission in California had conducted a huge advocacy effort among local Armenians in order to make the rally massive and impressive.

Armenian PM hoped to make the visit to Los Angeles a triumph, a demonstration of its importance to world Armenians. Despite his expectations, Pashinyan's visit demonstrated how far the American Armenians were from his "velvet revolution."

Although up to half a million Armenians live in Los Angeles, quite a few people came to meet with Pashinyan. Moreover, the number of people began to grow only after the concert in Grand Park began.

Further, on the square of the Grand Park, Pashinyan made a speech. Armenian PM thanked the Diaspora at the rally for assistance in the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and defined its new mission as a "project of All-Armenian development". What the Armenian PM meant is still a mystery.

Armenia is no longer a small country, because Armenia already represents a whole 10 million Armenians, Pashinyan said, and with this statement, he put himself in the position of the world Armenians "leader".

It is interesting that Pashinyan’s meeting in Los Angeles was hardly covered by the Armenian media. For the first time, the visit of the “revolutionary” PM took place in such silence. The reason for this silence is that none of Yerevan's expectations came true. Even the Armenian media and experts report the visit’s failure.

Armenian public and political activist Mihran Hakobyan announced the destruction of the myth of the Armenian lobby in the U.S.

Hakobyan noted that only the vice-governor of California accepted Pashinyan, and at least three times fewer people than planned attended PM's rally. He expressed regret that these indicators are an assessment of the Armenian lobby.

Even more painful for Pashinyan was the fact that only one senator showed up in his rally although  as many as 53 congressmen and senators were invited to listen to his speech.

Despite the lengthy preparation, involvement of the entire Armenian diaspora and lobby resources, the event turned out to be miserable, and if it weren’t for the concert, the number of rally participants  would have been even less.

According to  Armenian media reports, due to dissatisfaction with the results of the visit, Pashinyan is considering to dismiss the Armenian ambassador to the U.S. and the consul general in Los Angeles.

This seems unnecessary, since the failure of the visit is not so much the fault of diplomats as of Armenian leadership itself.

Long before Pashinyan’s trip to the U.S. for a UN session, the Armenian Foreign Ministry hinted that a meeting between the Armenian PM and the U.S. President Donald Trump would take place. However, Armenian diplomacy and Pashinyan suffered another humiliating fiasco in front of their own people.

Touching upon the possibility of a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US President Donald Trump, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynn Tracy said that meetings are held when the need arises.

According to her, the value of effective cooperation is not determined by meetings at such a high level, but by the content of bilateral relations.

The content of Armenian-U.S. bilateral relations, in turn, is determined only by relations between Yerevan and the U.S. Armenian diaspora. Therefore, there is no need for a high-level reception in Washington of the obsessive Armenian PM.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/186817.html

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