Pundit: Armenia invited neither to EU nor NATO

Armenian Doctor of Political Sciences Vahe Davtyan has said Armenia is not invited to the European Union or the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO).

“It’s probably worth starting with the fact that now no one is inviting Armenia anywhere, neither to the EU nor even to NATO. Therefore, rumours about the country’s non-aligned status are propaganda tricks that serve several purposes,” he said during an interview with the Armenian media, Caliber.Az reports.

"Realising that Armenia will not receive any security guarantees from the West, and the obligations to create the most uncomfortable conditions for Moscow have long been accepted, Yerevan is trying to play diversification. The point is that we favour European integration and the development of dialogue with NATO. Still, we understand that the official policy aimed at joining Euro-Atlantic structures [obtaining candidate status, etc.] causes additional tension in relations with Moscow with all the ensuing risks for Armenia's national security,” Davtyan said.

“In short, the main addressee of non-aligned topics is, first and foremost, Moscow. The goal is clear: to support the openly pursued anti-Russian policy without any guarantees from the EU and Washington. The situation is difficult, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sit on two chairs. Perhaps the solution lies in the following,” he noted.

According to the political analyst, the statements about a non-aligned state were made in order to minimise possible risks, which, in turn, was a deterrent to Western support for Armenia.

However, he said Yerevan had no other choice, given that Armenia was in an incorrect, one-directional security system built by the previous authorities.

“I think that this time there will not be many listeners of this old record," the political analyst added.