The April Fools' Day in Armenia was wonderfully well: the prime minister of the country Nikol Pashinyan "suddenly" decided to resign. Only it is not a joke at all, and, probably, the verified political course to mislead own voters.
The situation with requirements of Azerbaijan to return four villages relating to the Tavush region of Armenia under control of Baku became an occasion. They appeared under the power of Yerevan in the 90th, and still remain a stumbling block. Baku demands to return back them, and Pashinyan, apparently, not against to share again a zemlitsa with the neighbor, having secured with support of the western well-wishers.
Details - in material of the correspondent of UtroNews.
The resigning Nikol Pashinyan intends to hold early elections to parliament in September, 2024. Similar will become some kind of plebiscite to Pashinyan's policy which as it is already clear, assumes further surrender of national interests to please to Azerbaijan - if only to keep the power and "to fit" into the western establishment.
At the end of March Nikol Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan is in search of a reason for new large-scale war for what four villages which passed under control of Armenia in the 1990s can be used. According to him, the Armenian side does not apply for territories which are out of the borders of the state recognized as the world and also on villages about which tells Azerbaijan.
However, sat down in the Tavush region in question have a strategic importance for Armenia - and the prime minister it perfectly knows. The most important - these territories are in only 25 kilometers from the only route M6 which connects Armenia and Georgia.
And, apparently, besides proximity to the only transit artery, Pashinyan is going to hand over also Baganis standing near the only route H53 connecting the northeast areas of Armenia to border.
If Azerbaijan is occupied by Baganis, Voskepar, Kirants and five other villages, then Armenia will really lose control over the only road from the northeast to Georgia.
Moreover, considering technical capabilities of Azerbaijan, for Baku it is possible to take in a half a day under control and route M6, having completely cut off Yerevan from Georgia and by that having deprived Armenia of trade with the closest northern neighbors. In addition, Yerevan should forget also about the Black Sea ports of Georgia, for shipment of the goods to Europe, and it is a quarter of a commodity turn.
Route Yerevan-Tbilisi. The red cross designated the area which is prepared for delivery for Azerbaijan. Photo: open sources
In what logic for Pashinyan? Having handed over the strategic interests of the country and having satisfied appetites of Azerbaijan, at the head of Armenia will be completely given a free hand for further integration into the western structures, including the EU and NATO. Though about the last it is dug out it is not told, all understand that Nikol Pashinyan's team looks in this party.
The task of the present government is to reduce whenever possible most smoothly influence of Russia as key guarantor of safety in Transcaucasia. And for it the new elite of Armenia which forced out so-called. The Karabakh association (on which the Russian Federation leaned), expects to receive investments and opportunities for personal enrichment with the subsequent integration of the body, family and the capitals into the western countries.
In the same way also the Ukrainian elite after 2004, i.e. after shameful and illegal "victory" of Viktor Yushchenko at presidential elections behaved. Especially this process went after a coup d'etat of 2014.
However, not all were lucky. For example, the Maidan protester and the former prime minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk who scared together a fortune on building of a wall on border with Russia in the rank of the dollar billionaire settled in the USA. And here the oligarch Igor Kolomoysky (it is recognized as the terrorist and the extremist in the Russian Federation), who tried to play the game between Americans and Volodymyr Zelensky's team, ended up behind the bars.
Nikol Pashinyan and his colleagues also consider that after implementation of the project on rejection of Armenia from Russia and integration structures in Eurasia, they will be able to settle quietly in the West and not to know troubles.
There is, however, a detail. Having deprived Yerevan the remained transit arteries in the north and having cut trade with Russia and Georgia, Baku for certain will go south, to the Syunik region to deprive Armenia also trade with Iran. However, will deal with consequences of it on Pashinyan at all - to them to stay would day and night to hold on.
Now to the election. How unpleasant it would be to recognize Russia, ardent anti-Russian propaganda, coupled with the colossal funds that the Soros Foundation (recognized as an undesirable organization on the territory of the Russian Federation) and other American institutions are pouring into Armenia, all this works. In addition, all key media streams are gradually falling into Pashinyan's hands - several Russian TV channels and copyright programs, for example, TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, have recently stopped broadcasting in the country.
Given the help of Western PR specialists and political strategists, multiplied by the administrative resource, Pashinyan's power has all the prospects for re-election. Then the surrender of villages near the border will be presented as a result of national consensus. But the consequences will, of course, later.
After all, no one will take Armenia either to the EU or NATO, no one will give it real security guarantees. Armenian citizens go for a beautiful candy wrapper just like Ukrainians once went. Only without the hysteria and strain inherent in our Kyiv opponents.
It seems that the population of Armenia is satisfied with this moderate drift from Russia. Only many were not satisfied with the defeat in the war for Karabakh. Conclusions have not been drawn, and Ilham Aliyev, his Turkish partners and Western "good wishes," but not the Armenian people, remain the beneficiary and triumphant of this whole sad story.