First, let us note that Mr. O’Brien was stripped of his high-ranking job as a result of President Trump’s tenure, and he now has the task of explaining why President Trump’s administration was able to do what they were unable to do. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at the press briefing after Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the Armenian government—and referring to the fact that James O’Brien, the former Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of State, stated that Azerbaijan greatly benefited from the documents signed in Washington August 8 because it got what it wanted, whereas Armenia finds itself in a vulnerable position.

“From this position, what Mr. O’Brien said is on the one hand very strange, and on the other hand not at all strange. If Mr. O'Brien is talking about Armenia's vulnerabilities, I must state that, unfortunately Armenia was at its most vulnerable during his and their tenure. I want to recall the events of 2023, I want to recall the events of 2022, the events of 2021, and I must say that we [i.e. the incumbent Armenian authorities] have never been satisfied with the reaction and the work that the then-current US administration has done to assist the peace agenda in our region,” Pashinyan said.

“Mr. O'Brien is a man who lost his job as a result of all this, and I am not going to comment on his emotional assessments. If he lost his job, he should engage in self-reflection and not try to put the blame on the Republic of Armenia for losing his job,” Pashinyan noted.

“Today, the Republic of Armenia is in the least vulnerable state in its newly independent history. From 1991 to today, we have not been in a less vulnerable state. And perhaps it is the lack of skills to notice geopolitical and regional and political nuances that did not enable Mr. O'Brien to continue his work at the United States State Department," said the premier of Armenia.