By Harut Sassounian
In a rare move, the Republic of Armenia recently hired an American lobbying firm to promote Armenia’s interests in the United States.
Several years ago, the Armenian government hired another Washington lobbying firm, but only for a short period. Due to a lack of appreciation or understanding of the value of such firms, Armenia’s leaders have been unwilling to invest the necessary funds in retaining one.
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Even in the United States, most people, including Armenian-Americans, have little awareness of the crucial role lobbying firms play in policymaking. Wealthy Armenians usually prefer to donate to tangible community institutions, such as schools, churches and cultural centers which are often named after them. However, if they fund a PR firm, their name does not get etched on the wall of a building, making such contributions less appealing.
I know the value of lobbying firms, having twice arranged their hiring for Armenian organizations — despite the fact that both contracts were prematurely terminated.
Meanwhile, the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey have spent tens of millions of dollars over the years to retain dozens of leading American lobbying/PR firms. In a particularly unexpected and disturbing move, the Turkish government even hired in 2017 an Armenian — Ronn Torossian, President of the 5W Public Relations firm in New York City, to do PR for Turkey.
Turning to the present, the Armenian government, through its embassy in the United States, signed a month-to-month contract that starts on April 1, 2025, with Washington-based Mercury Public Affairs at a cost of $50,000 per month running until March 31, 2026. Mercury’s assignment: “providing strategic consulting, lobbying, public affairs, and government relations, including outreach to U.S. officials.”
Surprisingly, neither the Armenian government nor its embassy in Washington has announced this hiring. The American media revealed the information last month after the contract was filed on April 8, 2025, with the U.S. Department of Justice, as required under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
Why Armenia chose Mercury over hundreds of other Washington firms remains unknown. Armenia has offered no explanation for this selection.
Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), reacted to the hiring of Mercury on LinkedIn: “In a city (DC) with dozens of major lobbying firms, Pashinyan picked one with Turkish money in its bank account and Armenian blood still on its hands.” He further asked: “Is it a coincidence that Pashinyan and Erdogan hired the same lobbyist?”
Hamparian was referring to Mercury’s 2018 contract with Turkey, which the firm terminated in October 2020, after it came under intense public pressure for representing Turkey at a time when the country was militarily supporting Azerbaijan’s invasion of Artsakh.
For decades, lobbying efforts for Armenian issues in the United States have been handled by two Armenian-American organizations in Washington: the Armenian Assembly of America and the ANCA.
However, given the lack of coordination between the Armenian government and these two organizations, Mercury’s hiring will likely cause new conflicts, diminishing the lobbying firm’s effectiveness. While the Armenian Embassy in Washington has some interaction with the Armenian Assembly, it maintains no contacts with the ANCA. Given Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s intolerance toward anyone who disagrees with his policies, it is not possible to have any degree of cooperation between the embassy and ANCA. As a result, the Armenian Embassy may issue political instructions to Mercury that conflict with the messages promoted by the two Armenian-American groups to U.S. officials.
Most foreign governments have strong relations with their ethnic communities in the United States to maximize their influence in Washington. Regrettably, that is not the case with Armenia.
The contract signed by John Lonergan of Mercury and Armenia’s Ambassador Lilit Makunts on April 1, 2025, outlines several services Mercury has agreed to provide to the Republic of Armenia:
— “Advocate on Client’s [Armenia’s] behalf before Congress and the administration.
— Highlight [Armenia’s] geopolitical and strategic significance and role as an essential partner in the South Caucuses for US regional and global interests.
— Advance Armenia-US economic, trade, investment and technological cooperation.
— Position Client [Armenia] as an authoritative and trusted resource for administration officials as they analyze and discuss relevant issues.
— Engage the thought community on issues of interest to Client.
— Provide strategic communications and media relations services to Client.”
A word of caution: PR and lobbying firms usually secure high-priced contracts after making grand promises to their clients. However, without strict oversight from the Armenian embassy regarding Mercury’s daily activities, Armenia risks squandering its $50,000 monthly payments. In order to impress their clients, these firms generate tons of paperwork indicating that they are in steady contact with various officials. To avoid such a pitfall, the Armenian Embassy must demand from Mercury specific and productive results, not just reports on meetings and phone calls.