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Elnur Enveroglu

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The South Caucasus is still the target of Western politics; it uses various tactics and manoeuvres to penetrate the region. Armenia is yet a big morsel for the West to channel through to the region, while Georgia is hard for the West to apply a direct policy given its toughest rival, the Kremlin.

As Russia stands on its way, cutting Moscow's shackles over the South Caucasus remains the core mission for the United States and the European Union.

It is amazing that the West is ready to do anything to tear Armenia away from Russia and the CSTO; they even invited Nikol Vovaevich to watch a football match. We wonder at whose expense the banquet is, because the head of the Armenian government, playing at populism, rides a bicycle and is unlikely to have paid for a ticket for his entourage, including numerous security guards, to the stadium, since only he is entitled to a free ticket to the VIP zone.

We wouldn’t be surprised that at the stadium he will take selfies with all the guests, including the British Crown Prince William and the Spanish Prime Minister, to whom he will complain about the “bitter fate” of the Armenian people and beg for some money for the “poor” Armenians who voluntarily returned to their unhistorical homeland from Azerbaijan’s Garabagh. With the money spent on a pleasure trip to watch football, including a charter flight from Yerevan to Berlin and back, the Armenian prime minister could calmly resolve some of the issues of his small homeland of Ijevan (an ancient Azerbaijani village of Caravanserai).

Generally, Pashinyan considers it an honour to communicate with the Western political elite. Pashinyan enjoys their luxurious life and being close to them, not in essence, but more for moral satisfaction.

Certainly, all these are what Armenia hopes or wants from the West on a small scale. However, in return for these small and unnecessary requests, the West undoubtedly has demands from Armenia, and this request is leading Armenia alone, and even the Caucasus region as a whole, in dangerous directions.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan knows very well that neither the European Union nor NATO consider Armenia's wishes as one of their priorities. Even before Yerevan’s pro-Western stance, the West attempted to use the South Caucasus countries as a springboard to carry out its mission against Russia. For this, the West needs to take more measures. Therefore, Western forces do not keep Georgia away from their attention.

Differences between Georgia-US and Armenia-US relations

Relations between the West and Georgia are continued in two different directions from the perspective of government and society. Although communications with Western countries within the government is in good faith, it is cautious in certain nuances and interventions in the country's internal and foreign policy are not allowed. The views of society towards the West are completely different. That is, the masses in Georgia are more in favour of integrating with the West, which is related to the social situation in the country.

However, the situation in Armenia is completely different. The country's approach to the West is determined by the political platform of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from the ruling party. Perhaps if Pashinyan is replaced by some pro-Russian opposition politician, Armenia may change its political direction and this may be accepted as normal in society.

Can West completely separate Armenia from Russia?

Ukraine-Russia conflict was a great lesson for many. If before that, the states close to Ukraine were inclined to rapidly integrate into the West, today they are already hesitating to express their wills to be full member of the EU. For example, in April 2022, following the outbreak of the war between Ukraine and Russia, Moldova also intended to join the ongoing war. Official Chisinau considered the escalation of tension in Transnistria, a pro-Russian enclave of Moldova, as a provocation, and although the government was calm with the processes in Ukraine, later Moldova also tended towards tension turbulence. Then, considering that Moldova's military potential did not allow it, it took a step back.

When Russia started the war against Ukraine, the European Union and NATO states promised to provide full support to it, but today most of those promises are not fulfilled. As the war continues, Ukraine remains the oppressed and damaged party. The West, watching from the outside, is just waiting for Russia to weaken. So, this conflict is just NATO's war against Russia through proxy powers.

In a nutshell, Georgia was once influenced by the West and went to war with Russia, as a result, it lost part of its territories. Today, while Georgia was hoping to fully join the European Union, the negative response it received from the West dashed all hopes. It means that the West likes to keep the countries it considers its allies waiting at its doorstep. In this case, what Armenia hopes from the West are nothing but dreams.

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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews’ deputy editor-in-chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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