Last week, Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to the United States even though was marked by the participation in the ceremony commemorating the Armenian Genocide, however, it’s worth estimating as a regional event.
No meeting was held with the US President, which, however, once again proved Obama’s adopted policy not to escalate the United States-Turkey relations. Anyway, in the presence of Armenia’s EaEU membership, from the viewpoint of raising the Armenian-American relations to a new level, some events recorded during Serzh Sargsyan’s visit, even the details, are worth of attention. The “Trade and Investment Framework Agreement” (TIFA) that was negotiated for years between the governments of Armenia and the United States signed in Washington. This is in the event when Armenian joins the Eurasian Union, and in the event of Western sanctions against Russia, our country is experiencing the financial-economic losses directly. In this situation, a signing an agreement on trade and investment is a serious signal that the United States considers the implementation of investments in Armenia a priority.
Prior to Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to the US, in his interview to Freedom RFE/RL, US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills noted, “The deal will result in more opportunities for trade and business between the two countries. The Government and business circles will jointly identify which are the existing obstacles on the way to trade. The Agreement stipulates both parties to eliminate them to open more opportunities for trade and business.” Touching upon the relationship between Armenia and the United States, the Ambassador stressed that they are very strong. “I can assure you that the relationship between Armenia and the United States is very strong. President Obama thinks this relationship is very important, and as a proof, I can mention that a US Government representative visited Armenia to attend the April 24 very important commemoration event. The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement also indicates how important these relationships are for both sides,” said Richard Mills.
The US second high-ranking official – Vice Chairman Joe Biden, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power (Power and Biden carried the symbol of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide Forget-Me-Not badges on them) and the OSCE Minsk Group American co-chair James Warlick, together with Serzh Sargsyan, took part in the inter-religious prayer held in the National Cathedral of Washington to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide. J. Warlick highlights the decision of the Vice President to be present. “I think it is a pleasure for everyone to see Vice President Biden here to give a tribute to the past events. It’s extremely important to remember the past.”
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The American officials’ attendance to unprecedented by its scale event – the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, in the capital of the U.S. additionally records that the US without questioning the fact of genocide of Armenians mourn the 100-year with Armenians. Serzh Sargsyan had given a remarkable estimation in the U.S. He highly appreciated the role of the US in preservation of regional security and stability, including the active involvement of the US as an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair country in the Karabakh conflict settlement process. This was said during the meeting with the US Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other members of Republican and Democratic of the Senate, including the Chairman of the Committee for Armed Forces of the US Senate, John McCain, a figure that slams the President of Russia and considers the opportunity to negotiate with RF on the background of Russia-West confrontation unacceptable.
In the presence of noticeable recession in quite deep tension in the relations between the United States and Azerbaijan, as well as in the level of warmth in the relations between the US and Turkey, Washington seems like striving to emphasize the importance Armenia’s role in our region. To the point, the signal from Washington towards Armenia happened prior to Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Moscow and the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga on May 21-22.
It is too early to say how Armenia will use the signals and the opportunities of official Washington, and, more precisely, how much freedom will be given by Moscow to the authorities of Armenia in its relations with the West. Also, it is a fact that the interest of the West towards Armenia has not become less. Moreover, lately, significant steps seem to be made by the West to raise the relationships with Armenia to a new level. It remains to hope that the government authorities will manage to truly bring the positive signals by the United States to life for the benefit of Armenia.
EMMA GABRIELYAN
