Ijevan honorarium: Business in foreign policy How much is the former NATO Secretary General worth?

On March 18, according to Armenian media, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will visit Armenia. On March 20, he plans to visit Ijevan (Karvansara), where a press conference is scheduled. The city, where Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was born, was chosen for the event not by chance. As the saying goes, "He who pays calls the tune."

And of course, it is not Nikol Pashinyan himself who is paying, but the Armenian state budget. The consulting firm Rasmussen Global, founded by the former NATO Secretary General and offering strategic advice to governments, international organizations, and major corporations, is looking to strengthen its positions in other countries of the post-Soviet space.

For example, it has long been actively operating in Ukraine. "Over the past eight years, Rasmussen Global has become Europe’s leading advisory firm on Ukraine," states the company's website. From 2016 to 2019, Rasmussen served as an advisor to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. He is now advising the country's new leadership, as also noted on Rasmussen Global's website.

The company claims to have taken on the responsibility of working to ensure the long-term security of Ukraine. However, judging by the results, security there is not faring particularly well, especially considering the remarkable rapprochement between the U.S. and Russian leadership. Nevertheless, the former NATO Secretary General has likely already come up with both an excuse and a new line of work. He could very well develop an action plan to help the Ukrainian leadership avoid criticism from internal opponents.

However, it would be more logical to see Rasmussen in Ukraine rather than Armenia. But the fact remains — on March 18 he will be in Ijevan. We would hardly be wrong if we assume that the main topic of his press conference will be the peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan. And almost certainly, a standard portion of accusations against our country will be voiced. As they say, nothing personal — just business. And quite a profitable one at that.

At the end of February 2023, the company signed an official agreement to provide consulting and lobbying services to the Armenian government. On the Armenian side, the agreement was signed by Arayik Harutyunyan, Head of the Prime Minister's Office. According to available information, Rasmussen Global receives 499,000 euros per year from the Armenian government.

The subject of the agreement is providing assistance to Yerevan in achieving its political goals in relation to Europe, which, in turn, includes services such as promoting Armenia's position on the "Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" and enhancing defence capabilities in cooperation with the West. The consultants also promised to attract foreign investments and build closer relations with the EU.

The goals are planned to be achieved through direct contact with key decision-makers in the European Commission and by leveraging the resources of the company's founder's advisors — the former NATO Secretary General. The work is also carried out with the involvement of Armenia's embassies in Brussels and other European capitals through the organization of specialized events, at which Armenia can be presented to business leaders from the respective countries. It is for such purposes that media campaigns are developed at Rasmussen Global.

The former NATO Secretary General regularly appears in the European press with anti-Azerbaijani publications. For example, in August of last year, an article by Rasmussen was published in the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, directed against Azerbaijan. So, tomorrow's press conference in Ijevan will most likely earn him a generous honorarium.

This has happened before. In March 2023, Armenian journalist and blogger Alison Tahmizian Meuse — a graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, who has worked for outlets such as Agence France-Presse, NPR, and Asia Times — revealed how much the former NATO Secretary General charges for his services. She disclosed that Rasmussen received a substantial fee from the government for his trip to Armenia and for voicing statements favourable to the official Yerevan stance.

The same will happen now. And this will simultaneously serve as an example of the corruption of certain retired Western officials and as proof of the baselessness of accusations against Azerbaijan of "bribing foreign politicians." Because it is Armenia — officially and at the state level — that purchases various "Rasmussens" and "Pelosis." The only difference between them is the price.