YEREVAN. – Three important events occurred for Armenia in December alone, Regional Studies Center Director, political analyst Richard Giragosian stated at a press conference on Tuesday.   

As per Giragosian, the first event was Turkey FM Ahmet Davutoglu’s visit to capital city Yerevan.

“This showed that Armenia’s foreign policy is still strong; Armenia has an advantage over Turkey,” he said.      

According to the analyst, the second important development is the fact that something is taking place in terms of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. He recalled that, in November, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan held a private talk in Vienna. Giragosian also reflected on the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs’ meetings in Karabakh which, in his view, show that the Minsk Group is changing and working more dynamically. 

And the third important event in Armenia in December, in the analyst’s words, is Monday’s National Assembly (NA) ratification of the Armenia-Russia natural gas agreements.

“I hope what happened yesterday at the NA would send a message to the Armenian and the Russian authorities. Armenian-Russian relations are important, but Putin’s Russia is very disrespectful towards Armenia, and it offers very little in the case when Armenia is Russia’s sole reliable partner in this region.      

“The Armenian authorities need to have some self-respect and defend their positions in the relations. It is very risky to give Armenia’s important capacities to Russia and to receive very little in return. Now, the authorities are even more responsible and accountable for their actions” Giragosian said.      

As per the analyst, Armenia will face a more difficult economic situation in the coming year.

Richard Giragosian added that it is significant and symbolic that, by traveling to Moscow, the President of Armenia is wasting yet another day on Tuesday.