U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has heaped praise on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and said the United States is considering providing more assistance to Armenia.
Blinken was asked about the possibility of such aid when he spoke before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
“We are looking at a series of requests from Armenia to see what we can do to strengthen even more our support and cooperation with Armenia,” he said, answering a question from Jim Costa, a committee member representing a California constituency home to many ethnic Armenian voters.
Blinken noted that Washington already promised last month $65 million in additional “development assistance” to Armenia.
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“We’ll be moving forward, I think, in a number of different areas. Prime Minister Pashinyan has done an extraordinary job leading his country in very, very difficult times,” added the top U.S. diplomat.
The remarks come as Pashinyan is facing what may be the biggest challenge to his rule sparked by his decision to hand over several key border areas to Azerbaijan. Tens of thousands of people rallied in Yerevan earlier this month to condemn the land transfer and demand his resignation. The protests led by an Armenian archbishop and backed by a wide range of opposition groups are expected to resume this Sunday.
Pashinyan’s territorial concessions are part of a border deal reached by Baku and Yerevan on April 19. It was welcomed by the United States and the European Union.
Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian, who personally negotiated the deal, on Thursday met with Louis Bono, the U.S. State Department’s special envoy for Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. Grigorian’s office said they discussed “the process of normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and the importance of ensuring its continuity.”
Armenia’s main opposition groups denounced Pashinyan’s track record as disastrous even before the latest antigovernment protests. They blamed him for the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh and accused him of incompetence, misrule and inability to deal with lingering security challenges facing Armenia. Pashinyan and his allies reject the accusations.
Opposition leaders have also criticized the U.S. and the European Union for supporting Pashinyan’s government throughout his six-year rule. They have accused the Western powers of turning a blind eye to its undemocratic practices for geopolitical reasons.
Armenia’s relationship with Russia, its traditional ally, has deteriorated sharply in recent years. Pashinyan has repeatedly threatened to pull his country out of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.