Pashinyan's dreams about attracting Western investments not to come true

Concerned with Prime minister Pashinyan's strengthened positions some internal powers in Armenia deliberately sabotage his investment policy. As Pashinyan had borrowed some ministers from its predecessor it seems that certain external powers have assigned them the roles of so-called "Trojan Horses" in order to disrupt Pashinyan's plans to improve the economic climate in Armenia.
Realizing that he is unlikely to be able to carry out political reforms in the country where the population depends on remittance from Russia and the economy is controlled by revisionist oligarchs, Pashinyan proclaimed the policy on attracting western investments. However, Western investors primarily value stability and predictability for the capital. They are not interested in investing in the country that is on the verge of war with the neighboring country and intends to spend its scarce resources on militarization rather than on business infrastructure. Moreover, they do not invest their capital in the country where the courts are not independent and receive instructions from law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, cautious investors prefer not to entrust their capital to a country where ministers do not just intervene in matters outside their jurisdiction, but also openly contradict the prime minister's main policy. In such conditions, Pashinyan can only fulfill the promises to the people with the help of ambitious Armenian businessmen from Russia with whom he had tense relations at the very beginning of his reign since he was aimed at attracting investors from the West. So, while for the sake of creating the image of the investment attractiveness of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan  and his wife Anna Akopyan  travel  around the world smiling, changing socks with the Prime Minister of Canada, taking a selfie with the French Prime Minister, one of the "remnants" of the past authorities – the head of the National Security Service Arthur Vanetsyan, organizes information leakage about dependence of judicial system and makes provocative statements about occupied territories. Furthermore, another "remnant" of the past authorities Minister of the Defence David Tonoyan openly lobbies for the militarization of Armenia and the beginning of the war with Azerbaijan. 
What is behind the actions of these seemingly unrelated officials?
Tonoyan was a Deputy Minister of Defence of Armenia back during country’s military fiasco in Nagorno-Karabakh in April of 2016, so he should know what the armed forces are able to. At the end of the day, he is a professional military and a graduate of the military-diplomatic academy of the Russian Federation, that is a place where GRU educates its officers. Yet, during his visit to the US, Tonoyan declared that the expansion of Armenia's cooperation with the United States in conducting peacekeeping operations could strengthen the offensive potential of the Armenian armed forces. Such a statement undoubtedly drives a wedge into the very idea of Armenia's participation, along with Azerbaijan, in operations under the auspices of NATO partner programs. GRU’s Armenian MoD wants Armenian militaries to develop their skills to kill Azerbaijani soldiers, while both of the parties are in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan or Iraq.
On the other hand, Arthur Vanetsyan, a counterintelligence officer with ties to Sarkisyan regime and who had never held positions higher than those on the level of a territorial subdivision has never been known as a militarist. Vanetysan generally specializes in information leakages. He leaked his own phone conversation in which he proved that the judiciary in Armenia was a subordinate to executive power. Then Vanetsyan disseminated rumors that he lived at the government residence where the prime-minister lived also. He is an author of rumors that he is going to be appointed a First Deputy Prime Minister. Moreover, Vanetysan openly distorted the essence of Pashinyan's statement about Russia’s agents in the Armenian government. The fact reaffirms his ties with FSB. Vanetysan purposefully forms an opinion about himself as being a young politician with an FSB background, which makes him a real alternative to Nikol Pashinyan. By the way, the political destruction of Robert Kocaryan, a pro-Russian leader, fully meets his interests. It must be said that Pashinyan unequivocally reminded the society that he reserves the right to dismiss Tonoyan and Vanetsyan. Moreover, Venetian's rumor about the vice-premiership was substantially leveled out by the leakage of his business interests and the criminal case initiated by the State Revenue Committee of Armenia against his father Gagik Vanetsyan.
However, the forces that pushed and guided Tonoyan, Vanetsyan as well as some other ministers and deputies, seem to be closer to their goals than the Prime Minister, who is delaying cadre decisions because it challenges him with external political implications.



Читайте также

Оставить комментарий