The international community has begun to realize the potential dangers of Aliyev’s regime
The US new Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills will arrive in Armenia in the near future. Mills is considered to be one of the best diplomats in the United States, a diplomat, who is well aware of the problems of Armenia from the bery day of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The United States gives much importance to development of relations with Armenia, said Deputy Assistant of the US Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin in his exclusive interview to “Voice of America”. “Our primary goal is to achieve economic growth in Armenia, as well as ensure an increase in investment. This is what Armenia really needs now and we are not satisfied with the current level of our bilateral cooperation and would like to see more substantial U.S. investment in the Armenian economy,” said Rubin.
According to him, the high level of relations between the US and Armenia is also evidenced by the appointment of such an experienced diplomat as Richard Mills as a new US Ambassador to Armenia. “He is one of our best diplomats. I am saying this for sure because I have had the opportunity to work with him from the collapse of the Soviet Union and right after the independence of Armenia. At the time, I was in charge of establishment of relations with Armenia and handed over all my duties to Rick Mills,” said Rubin. “Ambassador Mills was the first Head of the Armenian Department of the State Department, and I am sure that he would win the hearts of Armenians,” said Eric Rubin, adding, “He has a long and close relationship with Armenia and the Armenian people. He treats Armenia very carefully, and he is a very talented and hardworking personality.”
Eric Rubin emphasizes that they are not satisfied with the current economic relations with Armenia and want to see more American investments in Armenia. This is a very important message to a country that has economically tied itself to Russia, whose economy is also falling down, after joining the EaEU. It means that today, more than ever, the official Washington realizes the importance of this region. “We realize that Russia’s economic challenges are affecting other countries in the region, and we definitely agree that we need to work with the authorities of these countries to help them overcome economic difficulties. The purpose of these sanctions is not to punish other countries in the region, hence, we certainly want to work with them and support them.
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I think that our new Ambassador, Richard Mills, will also discuss this issue upon his arrival,” says Rubin. The United States consider normalization of the Karabakh conflict a priority, indicating that number of dead and injured in the conflict zone is the highest after the war. “It’s not normal, and we are ready to closely work with the two leaders. We realize that there is not a magic solution, we realize that this is a long and difficult conflict, however, it should not proceed in a wrong direction. We believe that this year could be a year of progress,” mentioned Rubin. While in Armenia, the newly appointed US Ambassador Richard Mills addressing the regional security issues, has mentioned that the goal of his mission is a free and prosperous Armenia, at peace with its neighbors. R. Mills has singled out two imediate issues: “The first is regional peace. The sharp rise in violence and casualties along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of conflict over the past year is deeply troubling and it is in no nation’s interest. The United States appreciates Armenia’s commitment to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully. The United States is committed to helping the parties reach a peaceful, negotiated settlement through the Minsk Group process,” said the Ambassador. Both Rubin and Mills clearly pointed out in their messages that the US is supporting sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and security of the post-Soviet countries. These are also extremely important statements given the rather aggressive policy run by Azerbaijan on Armenia’s borders in recent months. E. Rubin had expressed a rather notable view in his recent statement regarding the level of democracy in Armenia, considering a positive fact that Armenia has really a multi-party parliament, that there exists a true debate in the media, there is a freedom of rallies in Armenia, and there is a society, in which people can express their views. “We want to support all of it, by working with the government authorities. In my opinion, Armenia had recorded real achievements in this field in recent years.”
Given the recent violence in Armenia, it can be assumed that such positive statements can simply vanish in the near future. And if those solving the problems through violence in our social and political life are not duely punished, then Armenia will very quickly put itself on the same scale with Azerbaijan. While today, there are a lot of very favorable messages voiced about Armenia from the EU and the United States. The international community seems to realize more clearly the possible dangers of the Aliyev regime. Recently, a very friendly statement was made by the OSCE Minsk Group American co-chair James Warlick, who rated the meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister of Armenia successful. Warlick welcomed Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s commitment to reduce the tension by making a post on his Twitter-page. “Good meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister to discuss Nagorno Karabakh peace process. We welcome his commitment to reducing tensions.” In this situation, everyone in Armenia should realize the importance of not to fall over.
Emma GABRIELYAN
