French accent in Goris and Armenia’s duplicity Peace or pretend?

Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, speaking at the 5th Forum of Armenia-France Decentralised Cooperation in Goris, alongside another round of praise for Paris, also outlined Yerevan’s foreign policy priorities.

“We also highly appreciate French support in the bilateral and European format for strengthening Armenia’s defence capabilities and economic resilience, as well as support for expansion of the Armenia-EU partnership, our desire to come closer to Europe,” Kostanyan said.

In this way, he confirmed two important messages from Yerevan.

Firstly, Armenia is ready to continue active militarisation through arms supplies from the West, which clearly contradicts the “peaceful approaches” that the Armenian authorities regularly proclaim publicly. At the same time, this fact confirms Yerevan’s revanchist plans to ignite a new war in the region.

Secondly, European integration, despite Yerevan’s crafty attempts to somehow veil this issue, remains on Armenia’s foreign policy agenda.

Indeed, the topic of Armenia’s integration into the EU has noticeably subsided recently, which is directly linked to the easing of tensions in Armenian-Russian relations. It is evident that Moscow’s pressure policy on Yerevan is yielding results, to some extent pushing Armenia away from the idea of Europeanisation and fostering closer ties with Russia.

About a year to a year and a half ago, Yerevan voiced exclusively harsh statements towards the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and generally expressed dissatisfaction with Kremlin policies in the South Caucasus, while Armenian politicians and diplomats ignored important Eurasian events held under Moscow’s patronage. However, over the past couple of months, the rhetoric of the Armenian authorities has changed significantly.

To recall, in mid-April, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, participated in the meeting of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in Saint Petersburg, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the Victory Day parade on May 9 in Moscow.

Such “gestures” by the Armenian authorities towards the Kremlin, to put it mildly, do not inspire enthusiasm among Yerevan’s Western patrons, including France. Therefore, awkwardly trying to navigate between the West and Russia, Yerevan still attempts to “sit on two chairs.” This is also confirmed by the recent statements of Vahan Kostanyan, which completely contradict the assurances given by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan regarding Eurasian integration, expressed during the recent visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Yerevan.

“The Republic of Armenia has not submitted an application for membership in the European Union, negotiations in this direction are not underway, and accordingly, the question that might arise in this regard is not relevant,” Mirzoyan stated at the time, effectively distancing himself from the European model of Armenia’s development as if it were taboo.

But what is curious is that ahead of Lavrov’s visit to Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Kristen Michal in Tallinn, expressed a different stance. In particular, when asked about Yerevan’s readiness to break free from Russia’s influence, he said: “We strive to deepen relations with the EU.”

These two contradictory statements by the Armenian authorities are indisputable evidence of official Yerevan’s duplicitous policy, which inevitably causes dissatisfaction both in Moscow and in Paris. The inconsistencies in the statements of Armenian officials clearly demonstrate that Armenian policy is based on lies and adventurism, through which Armenia still manages to receive certain financial and economic benefits from its membership in Eurasian structures (EAEU) and close cooperation with the EU. However, how long Yerevan will be able to continue playing this hypocritical game remains a big question.

However, it can be argued that the opening of the honorary consulate of France in Goris is a troubling signal for Moscow. In this context, it is appropriate to recall that the aforementioned visit of Lavrov to Armenia did not clarify the issue of opening a Russian consulate in Zangezur. This topic first arose on the Armenia-Russia track back in May 2023 and still remains unresolved.

Notably, Kostanyan, in his speech in Goris, touched upon the issue of Armenia-Azerbaijan reconciliation, which, however, was entirely expected.

“The Republic of Armenia, despite all existing challenges, is making determined efforts to establish lasting peace in the region,” he said, traditionally repeating Yerevan’s lofty thesis about its alleged commitment to peace in the region.

However, for that part of the international community that has a clear understanding of the real history of the conflict, it is absolutely clear that Armenia is trying to preserve its much-loved image of the “victim” in this despicable way.

It is quite possible that, by delaying the fulfilment of two key conditions of the Azerbaijani side, the Armenian authorities hope to sign a peace agreement without making the necessary amendments to the Armenian constitution. Although it is clear to everyone except the Armenian side that such a scenario is impossible under any circumstances. Baku has repeatedly stated that it will not allow interference in its internal affairs and has confirmed this on multiple occasions.

So, no matter how close Armenia and France become, and whatever “marriage contracts” they conclude, all attempts by the Armenian side to sign a peace treaty without fulfilling Azerbaijan’s demands are unequivocally doomed to fail.