2024-03-11 11:14:25
Author: Elchin Alioglu
Source: Trend
The Minister of Defense of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, announced the plans for the integration of his country into the European Union. After a series of interviews with the mass media of the European Union and the United States, Mirzoyan wanted to answer the questions of mass media reporters in Turkey.
From what he said, it is clear that Armenia’s short-term and medium-term strategic plans include accelerating European integration by normalizing relations with Turkey.
For example, in an interview with “TRT World” TV channel, Ararat Mirzoyan talked a lot about the prospects of Armenia joining the European Union.
“Considering the challenges and risks we have had to resist in the last three to four years, new opportunities are being actively discussed in Armenia. I will not reveal a secret if I say that the idea of joining the European Union is among these opportunities,” A. Mirzoyan said.
It is interesting that Yerevan considers the issue of EU integration precisely at the level of relations with Turkey. It seems as if Yerevan wants to assure Ankara that from now on, its relations with Turkey will be completely different from before and now, it will choose a new model of behavior, and finally, it seems that Armenia really has a completely new foreign policy course.
It has come to the point that Armenian diplomats are appealing to their Turkish colleagues behind closed doors to support Yerevan in the EU issue.
However, Ankara cannot advise Armenians on the ways and methodology of EU membership, nor does it have such an intention.
Because Turkey is aware of the true intentions of the Armenians and especially what the promises of Brussels mean.
It should be recalled that in April 1987, Turkey submitted its application for membership of the European Union to Brussels. 12 years later, in December 1999, the EU recognized Turkey as a candidate country. 5 years passed, in December 2004, the EU agreed to negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the EU.
Negotiations started in October 2005.
Now it’s 2024, but Brussels still hasn’t canceled its ultimatum, heavy conditions vis-a-vis Turkey, and that’s why Ankara’s EU membership issue is illusory, with zero probability of reality.
This fraud faced by Turkey clearly shows that the European Union prolongs the negotiations with the country that wants to join it as long as it wants, makes empty promises related to prospects, but in fact does not want to accept that country into its ranks.
Armenia’s relations with the European Union are more different: although Brussels is busy making promises to Yerevan, those promises themselves have a tragicomic effect.
The main goal of the European Union is to gain geopolitical and economic influence in the South Caucasus, to deal as hard a blow as possible to Russia’s strategic interests in the region, to minimize Moscow’s positions in the region, and finally to achieve Russia’s departure from the South Caucasus.
In this direction, Yerevan plays the role of a tool that naively believes in promises.
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, considers the promises as real prospects, and considers the European Union’s Observation-Monitoring Mission in Armenia (EUMA) to be an effective tool in ensuring the security of his country, especially in border protection.
Yerevan has entered a new stage of strategic mistakes, and the ruling elites of the Armenians are not aware of the disastrous mistakes they have made.
The West, which is based on the strategy of controlled chaos in relation to the post-Soviet space and continues to implement the plan developed decades ago, is already clearly and harshly demanding that Yerevan get out of Russia’s influence, increase the political distance between Moscow and Moscow as much as possible, and realize a specific pro-Western direction in foreign policy.
On this occasion, the state that intends to sign any document with Armenia must take into account the positions of the shadow “protector” of the Armenians, France, and the “director” of the European Union, in addition to the puppet Yerevan.
Nikol Pashinyan also acknowledged the situation: “Since Moscow has turned its back on us for a long time and does not consider our interests and demands, the activation of relations with the West is an inevitable alternative.”
Such a position of the power establishment in Yerevan has started a serious division in the country.
Thus, approximately half of the Armenian politicians and especially the businessmen believe that the hasty cooling of relations with Russia at the request of the West, reducing relations to a minimum, may cause serious economic-financial and social crises in the country by inflicting heavy blows on the Armenian economy.
They remind that most sectors of Armenian economy depend on Russian companies and market.
The reality is bitter for Pashinyan: Armenia’s natural gas supply and distribution networks, electricity generation and distribution network, Mesamor nuclear power plant, Razdan hydroelectric power plant, mines, banks, telecommunication sector, etc. either wholly or mostly owned by Russian capital.
The railway network of Armenia is completely under the control of Russia.
The number of Armenians living in Russia and Armenian migrants working there has exceeded 3 million.
It is for this reason that Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of the Russian president, ironically said last week: “The Armenian leadership should not forget that the number of Armenians living in Russia is greater than the number of Armenian citizens.”
Let’s not forget that Armenia, a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Customs Union of the CIS countries, benefits from the customs and tax privileges provided by its representation in these organizations.
Russia has taken a wait-and-see position for now, because Armenia’s exclusion from the listed structures would be a voluntary relinquishment of levers of influence on Pashinyan’s government.
Nikol Pashinyan does not see the reality, he moves towards the West, caught up in illusions. More than half of Armenian citizens support him in this matter.
There is only one reason: Armenians think that if they get the status of a member state of the European Union, they will have the right to enter the EU without a visa, like the citizens of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
However, this “privilege” is also a flawed success and has serious limitations.
For example, a similar regime exists between the EU and Georgia for several years.
Georgian citizens do not have the right to work in EU countries. Moreover, they can stay in the territory of the EU countries for 6 months a year, with breaks of 90 days each time.
Citizens of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova do not have the opportunity to earn money by working stably and legally in the EU countries.
If Armenia obtains the status of a candidate country for EU membership, Armenians will have exactly such a prospect.
It is naive to think that Armenia will get such a status in the coming years, and even if the status is obtained, Yerevan’s dependence on Moscow will not decrease.
Nikol Pashinyan should take concrete steps to distance himself from Russia instead of getting caught up in illusions.
The West does not promise Armenians security and support for solving the inevitable economic and financial problems.
EUMA’s 209 observers in Armenia cannot pacify Armenians – despite all Pashinyan’s promises.
Moreover, no statesman or politician in the European Union or the United States has offered Armenians to sign a defense alliance, has not promised to ensure Armenia’s security.
Armenia does not want to understand that it is busy rapidly escalating the situation in the region and creating artificial problems.
When the tension reaches its peak, Armenia will be left alone. He will have neither France, nor Greece, nor organizations with the states that are now promising.