Pundit Evseev: Yerevan wants preferences from West in lieu for quitting CSTO

“Visits to the USA, France, and other Western countries are not accidental or aimless. They have clearly defined goals and objectives for the Armenian authorities. The Armenian authorities are actively rejecting the CSTO, although they are not leaving it, and are trying to get something from the West in exchange for this step.”

Russian pundit Vladimir Evseev said this during his interview with the Armenian media, commenting on the planned visit of Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan to the United States, Caliber.Az reports.

“It is obvious that the activities of the Armenian authorities and the secretary of the Security Council towards the United States are causing concern in Iran. The Iranian authorities are expressing their position, possibly both publicly and during closed negotiations.

“It is no coincidence that Iran has repeatedly stated over the past year and a half that it will not allow the presence of other forces in the region. The Iranian authorities are tough on this, and probably the Armenian authorities would not want relations with Iran to turn out to be similar to the relations between Armenia and Russia. However, I am not sure that Iran fully understands Yerevan's motives, otherwise, it might have changed its emphasis.

“Armenian-Russian relations in the current situation arose due to similar problems - relations with the West and the goal of changing the main foreign policy partner of Armenia,” Evseev said.

The pundit believes that the active criticism of the Armenian authorities against the CSTO is an attempt to satisfy the expectations of the West.

“The West expects that Armenia will leave the CSTO, this is stated directly during official meetings and press conferences. Before leaving the CSTO or making its membership in the CSTO formal, Armenia is trying to get something from the United States - security guarantees or military support, since the United States declares support for the territorial integrity of Armenia.

“Armenia probably hopes for the practical side of such support, for specific mechanisms. It is not entirely clear to me how the United States is going to support Armenia, especially after the statements of the Deputy Secretary of State, which forced the United States to reconsider its position and try to soften the tense situation with Azerbaijan.

“It is also interesting that over the past few weeks, the West has been trying to gain control of regional infrastructure negotiations being conducted through Moscow. The central issue is the so-called corridor, which Moscow has repeatedly denied, but there are statements on this issue from the UK and the US. They are showing interest in this route. I wonder how Yerevan will react to this if Western countries begin to actively participate in this issue?” the pundit concluded.