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Armenia-US Relations: Unfulfilled Promise

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  • Armenia-US Relations: Unfulfilled Promise

    Armenia-US Relations: Unfulfilled Promise

    http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/03/21/armenia-us-relations-unfulfilled-promise/
    By Kate Nahapetian // March 21, 2014


    The Armenian Weekly March 2014 Magazine:
    Armenia's Foreign Policy in Focus

    Armenia has, since the rebirth of her independent state in 1991,
    pursued a forward-leaning policy to strengthen ties with the United
    States and NATO. Unfortunately, Armenia's outreach and initiatives to
    bolster support and investment from the United States have largely not
    been reciprocated by the Obama Administration.



    Kerry and Davutoglu address reporters after their meeting in
    Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2013. (State Department Photo)

    Strengthening ties with NATO

    Armenia has been a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program
    since 1994 and currently has troops stationed as part of NATO forces
    in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Armenia also supported U.S.-led efforts in
    the Iraq war.

    In June 2011, as countries were pulling out of Afghanistan, Armenia
    actually tripled its troop deployment there. Armenia has 4 times more
    troops in Afghanistan per capita than Turkey and 10 times more per
    capita than either Canada or France. In February of this year, Armenia
    pledged to keep its military contingent in Afghanistan even after
    NATO's mission is concluded in order to support the U.S.-led alliance
    to train and assist the Afghan army. Armenian Defense Minister Seyran
    Ohanian stated that Armenia is committed to "continuous contribution
    to coalition efforts to establish lasting security in Afghanistan."

    Despite regional pressures related to Armenia's relationship with
    NATO, Armenia's First Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, during a
    visit from U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas in
    December 2013, explained that "joining one or another economic bloc
    does not inhibit Armenia. On the contrary, our defense cooperation
    with the United States will develop and deepen further." Farkas in
    turn thanked Armenia for being a "net exporter of security" and noted
    that "Armenia is a significant partner to the United States in many
    ways."

    It is important to note that after the 2008 Georgian-Russian war,
    Armenia was the first country to host NATO exercises in the Caucasus.
    Armenia announced then that it was going to increase its ties with
    NATO, and it has done so ever since.

    Remaining an actor in the protocols farce

    Perhaps the U.S.'s most significant initiative in the region has been
    its effort to end Turkey's blockade of Armenia through the protocols.
    The protocols provided President Barack Obama the cover he needed to
    dodge his pledge to end U.S. complicity in Armenian Genocide denial.
    It was the excuse he used in his first April 24th statement to not
    recognize the genocide, even though he assured Armenian Americans that
    his "view of that history has not changed."



    Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian with Armenian troops in
    Afghanistan in 2010 (Photo: official website of the Defense Ministry
    of Armenia)

    Although there was strong opposition to the protocols within both
    Armenia and the diaspora, Armenian President Serge Sarkisian has
    continued to support this U.S.-led initiative, even though Turkey made
    it clear, within a day of its signing, that it had no intention of
    abiding by the agreement.

    Now, more than four years later, Armenia still has not withdrawn its
    signature from the protocols--this, despite the fact that they are
    being used by Ankara to undermine legitimate Armenian claims, and have
    helped forces who wish to turn the Armenian Genocide from a crime to
    be internationally condemned into a simple bilateral disagreement
    between Turkey and Armenia.

    The protocols have helped shield Turkey from outside pressure
    concerning the Armenian Genocide. As a result, Turkey has taken an
    even more aggressive posture against Armenia, including more vocally
    supporting Azerbaijan's anti-Armenian policies, threatening to deport
    Armenians in Turkey, accusing Armenia of committing
    atrocities--allegedly the "greatest tragedy of the 20th century"--in the
    Karabagh War, and demolishing a statue to Armenian-Turkish friendship,
    all of which have happened since the protocols were signed.

    Despite Turkey making a mockery of the process and the U.S.'s
    unwillingness to pressure Turkey beyond the occasional empty rhetoric
    that the "ball is in Turkey's court," Armenia continues to keep its
    signature on the protocols. Armenia has made it clear that it has done
    so out of deference to foreign powers, such as the United States.

    What has been the US response?

    Armenia is small in size, but big in terms of America's strategic
    interests in the world. It sits in the middle of Washington's top
    foreign policy priorities--Iran, Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and
    Syria--where it can play an important role. Although the second largest
    U.S. embassy in the world sits not in Baghdad or Berlin, but in
    Yerevan, the United States does not have much to show for its efforts
    to promote trade or investment or reciprocate Armenia's efforts to
    strengthen the partnership.

    Its signature diplomatic initiative in Armenia was the protocols,
    which garnered the intense attention of Secretary of State Hillary
    Clinton and President Obama before Armenia and Turkey agreed to sign
    the accord. Since Turkey quickly made it clear that it was not going
    to abide by that agreement, the United States' willingness to pour
    political capital into realizing the agreement dramatically decreased.

    The U.S. has not made Turkey pay a price for its failure to ratify the
    protocols and end its blockade. Instead, it has rewarded Turkey by
    publicly saying it could have a role to play in the Karabakh peace
    process, whereas previous administrations made it clear that Turkey
    would only have a negative impact on the peace process. For instance,
    in November 2013 at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign
    Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Secretary of State John Kerry discussed
    consultations with Turkey over Nagorno-Karabagh without even
    mentioning the protocols or Turkey's need to end its blockade of
    Armenia. Davutoglu felt comfortable claiming, "Today I am happy to see
    that John and me and Turkey and the United States look to
    [Nagorno-Karabagh] from the same perspective."

    Not only did President Obama fail to honor his pledge to recognize the
    Armenian Genocide, but his former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,
    questioned the veracity of the Armenian Genocide--a move no other
    former Secretary of State in recent memory has made. In addition,
    Obama's Solicitor General filed a brief in opposition to a California
    statute that allowed for Armenian Genocide-era property claims to be
    brought in U.S. courts. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case and
    the California law was struck down, denying justice to Armenian
    Americans.

    Even on issues that would not risk the unreasonable wrath of Turkey,
    and even though numerous Members of Congress and U.S. corporations
    (such as Microsoft, NASDAQ, and Fed Ex) have urged the administration
    to immediately negotiate a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
    (TIFA) with Armenia, the Obama Administration hasn't pursued U.S.
    interests in promoting trade with Armenia.

    After a near continuous four years of Armenia extending its hand
    towards NATO and continuing to support the failed U.S.-backed
    protocols with Turkey, Armenian Americans cannot point to any
    meaningful benefit to U.S.-Armenia relations or trade. In fact, as the
    examples above illustrate, there were actually steps that undermined a
    strengthening of the partnership. What did, it seems, finally get the
    attention of the Obama Administration was not Armenia's continued
    support for the protocols and other U.S. policies, but rather
    Armenia's decision to move toward Russia's Custom's Union. Soon after
    the United States announced an over $250 million investment by the
    U.S. firm ContourGlobal in hydroelectric power plants in Armenia.

    The announcement of a major U.S. investment in Armenia is a welcome
    first step in promoting greater U.S.-Armenia ties. Despite the many
    regional challenges, most notably the hostile neighbors it faces in
    both Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenia is determined to strengthen its
    ties with the United States and Europe. The United States should do
    more to strengthen this partnership. Doing so will provide the United
    States with greater options to pursue its interests and promote
    stability in a geostrategic region. Moreover, the Obama Administration
    should stop compromising our values as a country to placate the most
    radical elements in Turkey, especially when it concerns confronting
    Turkey's state-sponsored denial of the Armenian Genocide, which is at
    the root of instability between Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. As
    Americans, we are, in our relations with Armenia and all nations, at
    our best when we align our policies with our values.

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