Armenia expressed readiness to raise the level of relations with the United States to a strategic partnership, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in a congratulatory message to US President Joe Biden on the occasion of Independence Day.
The universal values of liberty, justice and democracy that underpinned the founding of the United States of America, and the ideas reflected in the Declaration of Independence, continue to be a source of inspiration and support around the world.
The US shares the same status with Ukraine, with the strategic partnership signifying a sharing of core principles and beliefs related to the promotion of democracy, support for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of borders. The United States also helps partners with military and economic reforms. However, this does not imply military assistance.
Armenia has turned to Western countries amid a conflict with the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Yerevan requested assistance in 2022 after the conflict with Azerbaijan erupted, but the CSTO offered to resolve the problem through peaceful means.
Pashinyan’s efforts come amid popular protests that began after Yerevan and Baku agreed to begin the process of border delimitation. The transfer of control over Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, as well as the ceding of four villages, was a blow to Armenians.
Recently, he also stated that he believed it was inexpedient to hold a referendum on EU accession. The Prime Minister expressed confidence in the European aspirations of Armenians. At the meeting of the “Armenian Democratic Forum”, which was attended among others by the EU and US ambassadors, Nikol Pashinyan stated:
I have stated that Armenia is ready to be as close to the EU as the EU considers possible. If I thought that the people of Armenia do not share this idea, I would not have made such a statement.
