Radio Azatutyun. Richard Mills, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, sounded optimistic on Monday about Armenia’s chances of becoming an established democracy after the recent dramatic change of its government.
“I am [optimistic] because I know it’s what the Armenian people want,” Mills told RFE/RL’s Armenian service in an interview.
“Armenians know what they want and they will achieve that goal,” he said. “So I’m confident. I think the democratic future here is bright.”
In that context, Mill pointed to last spring’s mass protests that brought down the previous Armenian government, saying that they resulted from public demand for sweeping changes in the country.
“What we saw in April and May were Armenian-led developments… Armenians wanted a new society, a political will to solve problems,” he said.
The envoy, who is completing his more than three-year tour of duty in Armenia, admitted, though, that he was not sure about the outcome of the protest movement when it was launched by Nikol Pashinian, then an opposition leader, in Gyumri.
The nationwide protests forced Armenia’s longtime leader Serzh Sarkisian to resign on April 23. The Armenian parliament elected Pashinian prime minister on May 8 under relentless pressure from scores of his supporters demonstrating in Yerevan and other parts of the country.
Mills said that Pashinian has since been rapidly evolving from a protest leader into a head of government.
“I’m impressed with the gravitas that he has,” he said, drawing parallels between the 43-year-old former journalist and John Adams, one of the American founding fathers who served as second president of the United States from 1797-1801.
Photo – Radio Azatutyun