The drama between soft and hard power is about to play out on the stage of Armenia, Foreign Policy observer Emily Tamkin writes.

The author recalls the recent announcement of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, in which the United States, along with the European Union and the governments of the United Kingdom and Germany, express readiness to provide financial support for a new voting process in Armenia. The statement concludes by noting that the United States are “strongly committed to being a part of Armenia’s ongoing democratic growth and in helping it become the independent, secure, and prosperous nation its people deserve.”

''Is this, then, a sign that Armenia is to tighten ties with the United States and Western Europe?'' Tamkin writes.

She also notes that Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan is currently in Moscow, where he and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu will sign a military task force agreement. Under this agreement, Russia ''will legally be able to use its military to ostensibly protect Armenia,'' Tamkin writes.

''That Russia is pulling Armenia ever closer is upsetting to some in Azerbaijan, where some lawmakers are asking for reconsideration of their country’s close relations with Russia,'' the author notes.  

However, Tamkin urges Western watchers not to get too excited: If it is unlikely that Armenia forsake Russia for America’s electoral embrace, it is even less likely that Azerbaijan would turn away from Russia and toward true democracy.