Armenian political scientist assesses challenges of Armenia-US partnership under Trump

YEREVAN, January 14. /ARKA/. Armenian political scientist and director of the Center for American Studies, Suren Sargsyan, assessed the significance of the launch of the Armenian-American strategic partnership, which involves deepening relations in several areas.

The document on the strategic partnership between Armenia and the United States will be signed in Washington on the evening of January 14 by RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

First, as Sargsyan emphasized, it is important to understand that a strategic partnership does not mean a strategic alliance, such as the US-Israel or US-UK relations. "The US will not provide Armenia with any security guarantees, military assistance, nor will it sell or supply weapons and ammunition as aid. This format does not imply the deployment of an American military base or military representatives in Armenia," the expert wrote on his Facebook page.

According to him, in the security sphere, this implies support for advisory programs, military-to-military interaction activities, professional military education opportunities through the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, as well as continuing the long-standing partnership with the Kansas National Guard.

"Additional financial and technical support for the economy, reforms, human rights, and social programs will also be provided. In the nuclear energy sector, I believe there is an interest in deploying modular American nuclear power plants in Armenia," Sargsyan stated.

At the same time, the political scientist raised the question: "Will it be possible to implement this document, signed with the outgoing Biden administration, under the incoming Trump administration?" "It will be more difficult and depends entirely on our efforts," Sargsyan emphasized.