Not wishing to get involved in political discussions whether who will the Prime Minister of Armenia be since April 2018, I want to focus on foreign policy challenges that will be there for the next leader of Armenia.
I believe there is a broad public consensus that the physical security of the population of Armenia and Artsakh will be the primary challenge of the Armenian leader. Armenia is surrounded by two neighbors, with one of which it has hostile relations, and it is in a war with the other. The Prime Minister of Armenia should have a complete idea of the Artsakh issue, its history, and course, participate in the organization of Artsakh’s self-defense, have experience in the defense and security of the state. At the same time, the next leader of Armenia should have an idea of the country’s defense capacity (from armed forces to military industry), army fighting capability, national security strategy and tactics.
As you know, it is one thing to win the war, another is to consolidate the success through negotiations and diplomacy. In this sense, the peaceful settlement of the Artsakh issue and the negotiation process are an important challenge. The Armenian leader must know the negotiation process perfectly, with all the details and nuances, should have the ability to advance Armenia’s position on the negotiation table.
Another challenge is that the Prime Minister of Armenia should be a perceived and acceptable partner both for Russia, as well as the EU and the United States. This is not only in the context of the Minsk Group but generally in the foreign policy arena.
The outside world must be sure that the Armenian leader is an independent figure with political will and inner political weight. The multi-vector implementation of foreign policy is in the interests of Armenia, which means Armenia should deepen its relations with all geopolitical centers, from Beijing to Moscow, from Washington to Tehran and Brussels. This means that the next Prime Minister of Armenia should have a serious experience in international relations to pursue a balanced foreign policy. Thus, we can conclude that the external challenges of the new Prime Minister of Armenia are essentially conditioned by security issues, negotiation processes and the ability to maneuver in the tense relations of global players. Consequently, the next Prime Minister must realize external challenges, have experience and knowledge to neutralize them and be acceptable to external players. There is no shortage of candidates, but do all of them possess all these skills?
Suren SARGSYAN
