EU dangles membership before Armenia as impoverished country with no resources

By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

Talks on Armenia’s commitment to chum up to the West have become repetitive in the regional media in the post-war period. Although searching for better allies overseas, Yerevan doesn’t fully give up on Russia, trying to juggle two balls in one hand.

Despite such obvious duplicity, some Western decision-makers seem to be easily fooled and indulge Armenia in its childish whims. Here, the recent outburst of the Western states against Azerbaijan’s sovereign right to establish checkpoints on the border with Armenia and their condemnation of the alleged ‘blockade’ on the Lachin-Khankandi road indicate where they stand on the diplomatic agenda.

While imposing sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine, the West not only remains silent against the bloody war crimes committed by Armenia but even proposes closer, more intimate ties with it.

In this vein, Swedish MP Björn Soder has suggested introducing a visa-free regime in the EU for Armenia against the backdrop of its "desire to break ties with Russia".

“Currently, there are great opportunities for Armenia to join Europe and accept the country into the European family to which it belongs,” he added.

Whether the Swedish official was trying to get to Russia in this way, or perhaps send a signal to Turkiye, with which it has had its own contradictions, is not entirely clear.

In a comment to Azernews, British journalist Neil Watson noted the fact that such a statement of the MP comes only two days after his call for recognition of the so-called Armenian ‘genocide’.

“In my view, the root of this call for Armenia to be accepted into the European family of nations is solely attributable to the successes of Armenian propaganda from its diaspora, most notably in terms of representing its struggles in religious terms,” Watson emphasised.

The journalist also underlined that Swedish Islamophobia is rife and this stance very much appeals to the electorate.

“Also, it is true that it is a tool against Russia. Armenia and Belarus have been the two strongest pro-Russian post-Soviet states. As Armenia under Pashinyan could potentially move further away from the Kremlin, particularly when a peace deal is signed with Azerbaijan, this could be the time for the EU to capitalise on this and bring Armenia closer as an EU satellite in the South Caucasus,” he added.

The journalist also expressed that he doesn’t “seriously believe that the EU sees any great opportunities in Armenia”.

“It is an impoverished country with no resources that has been solely reliant on Russia for 30 years since occupying 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory,” he finalized.