ACNIS reView

The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) summit held in Yerevan on October 1 caused a strong reaction in Armenia and the member countries of that event. And if the participation of the Prime Minister of Singapore and the President of Iran at the summit was of interest outside of Armenia, then inside Armenia, as expected, passions were heated around the person of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The last time the Russian President visited Armenia was almost three years ago. And after the change of power that took place as a result of the “Velvet Revolution”, all of Pashinyan’s bilateral meetings with Putin took place either in Moscow or internationally. in gatherings.

All that time, debates about the nature of Armenian-Russian relations did not stop in Armenia. Many believed that the policies of the new authorities had worsened those relations. Such sentiments were kept hot by some Russian figures and mass media, drumming up the topic of “Armenia’s withdrawal to the West”. And from the moment information about the preparation of the summit of the Eurasian Economic Council in Yerevan appeared, the only topic of conversation became the topic of the visit of the Russian President to Yerevan. For some reason, he had the opinion that Putin will not come to Yerevan because he is “upset” with Pashinyan. The body very few were interested in the summit issue. But what happened happened.

At the first meeting of the heads of state, Putin looked very gloomy indeed. Apparently, it was not easy to feel in the role of one of the many leaders of the states in the territory of the state, which is often perceived as a “vassal” of Russia. Having a meeting at the airport, according to the protocol, being received by the head of the Armenian government on an equal footing with everyone is somewhat unusual. It is more common to visit Armenia at your own discretion, as it was years ago. I still remember how years ago his plane landed not in the capital of Armenia, but in Gyumri, where the Russian military base is located. the military base. And the president of Armenia was forced to leave at that time and meet him right there.

But times are changing. Global trends indiscriminately force everyone to revise their ideas of communicating with partners, and even with those whom they have never considered partners. Driven into a corner by Western countries, Russia can no longer rely on the Eurasian Union. The situation imperatively requires to go out into a wider space and into the sphere of relations between the leading countries. And here he has to change his evaluations in relation to traditional partners. The club called EATM has now turned into just a mechanism for expanding a new network of global relationships.

For the first time, this trend appeared in 2019. June 6-8 during the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. We are talking about the unprecedented bid of Russia and China to form a comprehensive partnership in strengthening global strategic stability. The magnificent reception shown to the Chinese President Xi Jinping by the President of that country, Putin, as well as the epoch-making statements leave no room for doubt in the far-reaching intentions of the two countries. Against the backdrop of the PRC’s brutal trade war against the United States, the similar intentions of Russia and China seem fatal for the whole world.

Even then, it became obvious that on the eve of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and during its holding, the two superpowers were playing the most important games against Armenia. On the eve of the meeting, the press secretary of the Russian president specially emphasized that in addition to the president of the People’s Republic of China, they are waiting for the prime minister of Armenia. Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that Armenia is an important partner of China in the “civilization” policy of his country. After that, the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China to Armenia took place, and an agreement on a visa-free agreement was signed between the two countries.

And, as evidenced by the demonstrative actions of “affection” towards the Prime Minister of Armenia during the days of the forum, the questions put to him in all directions for the purpose of “testing his strength”, Armenia was not waiting for nothing in St. Petersburg. The fact that Armenia was offered a special place in the bid of Russia and China to form a comprehensive partnership was quite transparently demonstrated. It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Pashinyan did not hide in his speeches that Armenia has something to offer to the changing international format. There was a willingness to turn Armenia from Iran to the Eurasian space and of the transport corridor stretching to Europe. Pashinyan stated that EAEU membership cannot be an obstacle in shaping Armenia’s relations with China, the European Union and others. It is also noteworthy that important figures from other post-Soviet states, who are usually present, were absent in the mentioned debates. It seems that there is little to connect them in the new perspective.

If we look at the EAEU summit held in Yerevan today, we can clearly see the continuation of the trends manifested in the St. Petersburg summit. With the efforts of the Armenian government, the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Lo and the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani arrived in Yerevan in advance and participated in the work of the Eurasian Higher Economic Council. During this year, the Prime Minister of Armenia was on an official visit to those two countries, where the agreements were reached. And the agreement on the free trade zone between Singapore and EAEU was already signed in Yerevan. The meeting of the presidents of Russia and Iran also took place separate meeting.

In the evening, it became clear that the ice has melted in the relations between Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan. During their meeting, the Russian president stated in high spirits that the results of the summit were “really good”, including “from the point of view of the development of relations with our partners in third countries… There was no failure, on the contrary, all the agreements between the participating countries of that union were reached within the framework of the organization. Here is the person who made the most efforts for such effective work. I want to congratulate you, as the EAEU president, on the results of the summit held in Yerevan.”

On the eve of the summit, the Russian press did not hesitate to write that “Yerevan summit will go down in history”, referring to the participation of the Prime Minister of Singapore and the President of Iran. Undoubtedly, for Russia, this very aspect is crucial. And the curtseys addressed to India, China and other countries in Yerevan only confirm the opinions that the “Yerevan undertaking” is valued as a basis for the implementation of new global initiatives. Time will show how these initiatives can be drawn into the Western political-economic concept.

Manvel Sargsyan