WHAT DOES U.S. PLAN IN ARMENIA FOR 2015?
Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments – 09 February 2015, 16:03
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“This year, 1915, has great and special significance for the entire
world. The U.S. embassy in Yerevan will work to demonstrate that the
United States and American people stand in solidarity with the Armenian
people at this solemn time and will never, never forget this tragedy,
in which more than a million Armenians were killed,” the U.S.
Ambassador Richard Mills stated, the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook page
informs.
The new ambassador implies that in 2015 the United States will do
something new about the Armenian cause. Maybe it is going to be
something that will have an international, not just pure Armenian,
U.S.-Armenian or Armenian-Turkish importance.
At the same time, the activity seems to be going to be confined to
the U.S. embassy. At least, Ambassador Mills says “the U.S. embassy
in Yerevan will work to demonstrate”.
What is the U.S. embassy in Yerevan going to demonstrate in 2015,
the centenary of the Armenian genocide to stand in solidarity with
the Armenian people at this solemn time?
Will those steps be symbolic, will there by events or are political
steps by the U.S. embassy in Yerevan being planned? At least,
Ambassador Mills took on his new position with an intriguing statement.
In fact, the actions of the United States ahead of the centenary
seem to be the core of the stance of the international community, as
it has been for years. Armenia, the Armenians have particularly had
expectations from the American “part” of the process of international
recognition of the genocide. In fact, this is determined by the role
and importance of the United States in global politics.
In this sense, it is natural that among expectations of global reaction
to the centenary expectations from the United States are particularly
great and special.
However, the problem must be viewed more broadly than, for example,
during the years of focusing on whether the U.S. president would
utter the word “genocide” in the April 24 message.
The problem is broader and more comprehensive, it involves multiple
layers of international politics, and one has to go deep into these
layers, understand the interests, tendencies, interrelations determined
by them.
In this regard, the potential of strategic, far-reaching political
influence of any step is far more important than superficial comfort
for the wounded soul of the Armenian people. Moreover, the political
aspect, plans and objectives relating to Turkey, Caucasus and the
Near East will be crucial. Currently, highly dynamic processes are
underway in the world and in the region.
New Ambassador Mills’ statement is interesting in the context of these
processes and seems to demonstrate essential increase of the role of
the U.S. embassy in Armenia. Is this increase temporary and confined to
the centenary or is the centenary just an occasion or a starting point?
A broader circle is concerned, and it is not accidental that the new
building of the U.S. embassy to Armenia which opened 10 years ago
is the biggest in the region, Moreover, after the U.S. embassy in
Germany it is the biggest embassy in the world.
This is evidence that the broad regional role of the U.S. Embassy in
Armenia in the American politics has been planned much earlier. Now,
to put it figuratively, the embassy’s geopolitical scale will be
harmonized with the scale of the embassy premises. And the fact that
currently there are signs of increasing role and scope and coverage
are outlined in the ambassador’s statement is most probably part of
the strategy, not just the tactical matters relating to April 2015.
This is a new setting for Armenia, and Armenia should demonstrate its
adequacy to the new situation. As in the case of appearing at the
core of such a large-scale matter, this time too Armenia will face
both risks and opportunities. As to how the risks will be handled and
opportunities used for improving the role and importance of Armenia, as
well as its development and security will depend on Armenia’s adequacy.