The idea that the world is afraid of not Russia’s power but Putin’s powerlessness concerns the existing situation when Russia is losing its geopolitical influence, which can become a factor influencing Putin’s psychological and emotional situation and behavior. When people with such huge power fall into a situation like this or panic, they can do anything. Russia is in a similar situation now, and one can expect anything from Russia. Putin is unpredictable and can be dangerous.
Every politician has the right to express his own opinions. In this case we are speaking about the ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan. I don’t share this opinion myself and think that this process can be easily stopped and retrieved.
Following the demonstration of the Armenian National Congress on March 1 and processes in Ukraine, in Armenia people did not pay due attention to US Ambassador John Heffern’s announcement in an interview with Armenpress, which contains several important messages.
The government would claim the opposite and they’d assure that the complementary politics continues and that Armenia was wise in that regard. But the recent processes in the international arena come to prove the opposite. One of the best indexes was the recent session of the European People’s Party in Dublin, where the Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan made a speech. And in his speech he emphasized that even though Armenia is moving towards the CU it also wises to move in the direction of the EU.
I actually believe that Putin is totally predictable. The draconian methods that he uses to try and achieve his goals are well known. He is stuck in a cold war mentality. He doesn’t seem to understand that his methods are building up great hatred and dislike towards him both outside and inside Russia.
Russia seemingly declared a war against Ukraine, the Russian troops are added in Crimea every day and at any moment Putin may start using military force in Crimea as promised to the Federal Council of Russia. The international community is trying to prevent the threat of war in a diplomatic way by not only threatening to show military support to Ukraine but also by applying economic and political sanctions against Russia.
Today the Armenian National Congress is going to organize a demonstration in Freedom square of Yerevan. This is the first demonstration after a long-lasting break, which may be crowded due to the fact that several opposition powers want to unite and also there is some movement due to the government’s initiative for creation of a compulsory pension fund. Even though the ANC targets more people at the demonstration, if they succeed in bringing a lot of people to the square, it may become a challenge for them.
At a presentation yesterday on the topic of “National Brand Strategy: Tasks and Perspectives” in Yerevan the Armenian society was informed of an initiative that would bring an American company to help Armenia to help the country develop a competitive brand strategy. The total cost of this project will be 450,000 USD, 150,000 out of which will be paid by the Armenian government.
The question “What is the lesson of Ukraine” is often heard in almost all post-soviet states. This matter should concern both the Armenian government and opposition. But we see that the Armenian politicians not only don’t answer any of those questions but also close their ears in order not to even hear the question. And it should first of all be the Armenian government that should learn lessons from Ukraine.
The recent bill on compulsory pension fund creation launched political processes which highlight the fact that Armenia’s governance is poor and the government is anti-democratic. President Serzh Sargsyan openly announced that 80 per cent of the society is against this proposal, and that the government is minority.
