US-Armenia strategic partnership a misstep in Southern Caucasus policy US pundit tells Caliber.Az

On June 11, 2024, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan hosted Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James O’Brien and an interagency government delegation for the US-Armenia Strategic Dialogue (USASD) Capstone meeting, which took place in Yerevan, Armenia.

US-based political expert Peter Tase told Caliber.Az news website in an exclusive remarks. 

During the Capstone meeting, Armenia and the United States reviewed progress on strengthening bilateral relations and outlined a vision for deepening ties in the coming year, to be formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding, to upgrade the status of their bilateral dialogue to a Strategic Partnership Commission.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committing a huge blunder in the implementation of US Foreign Policy in the Southern Caucasus region. This strategic partnership with Yerevan will further embolden the Armenian Government to become more aggressive with its neighboring countries. Washington is completely out of touch with reality in this part of Europe and this bilateral strategic partnership will have negative geostrategic consequences that will further deteriorate Washington’s position and its economic fulcrum in Europe.

These actions do not bode well with America’s geopolitical interests in the region and Eurasia. The United States of America needs to preserve an open and genuine dialogue, partnership, and political coordination with the administration of President Ilham Aliyev, considered by many as a highly respected statesman who keeps his word and promises.

Unfortunately, the State Department has decided to deepen its cooperation with Armenia, a government that is heavily arming itself with Serbia, Greece, and France; Yerevan continues to expand its military technology by purchasing large caches of ammunition from Belgrade and Paris.

This strategic cooperation with Washington will encourage Yerevan to delay fulfilling its commitments towards reaching a peace treaty with Baku and respecting international laws when it comes to recognizing the full territorial sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan.