The very brief one-hour visit of the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to Yerevan on May 26, two weeks before the parliamentary elections in Armenia, resulted in the signing of three documents: “The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the United States, a Framework Memorandum of Understanding on the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Metals, and a Framework Agreement for Strategic Cooperation under the Project ‘Trump’s Path to International Prosperity’ (Tripp [pour Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity])†, reports the newspaper The Moscow Times.
“Our countries have reached an unprecedented historical stage,†welcomed the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan.
The Tripp road and rail corridor project is to connect Azerbaijan to its enclave on Armenian territory, Nakhichevan, by a 42 kilometer long road crossing the Syunik region, in southern Armenia. The Armenian-American company Tripp Development will be responsible for the development and implementation of the Tripp infrastructure for forty-nine years.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, relayed by the Armenian pro-government media Panarmenian, announced that “Armenia and the United States will collaborate on the development of a new geological map of Armenia†, car “rare minerals have taken on particular importance given the development of artificial intelligence technologiesâ€.
The site beat politically opposed to the Armenian government, is indignant: “Who gave Nikol Pashinian the power to decide, in the name of future generations, how and under what conditions to exploit natural resources for the benefit of the United States? Even without taking into account Russia, which the government hardly appreciates, China would perhaps have offered much more advantageous conditions. But no, Pashinian decided to cede this to the Americans, whose approach is purely utilitarian: they need lines of communication and mining resources.†The mining of iron, copper, zinc and other minerals constitutes a major sector of the Armenian economy.
“Small cog in a huge machineâ€
The Armenian daily Golos Armenii, also opposed to the government, ironically: the United States “will therefore control rare earth resources in Armenia†, and this is how “Pachinian’s government ‘strengthens’ the country’s sovereignty and independence, the Prime Minister’s favorite mantrasâ€.
Asked by Golos Armenii, sociologist David Karabekian explains that “in a context where Yerevan is gradually breaking its partnership ties with the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization [deux organisations régionales postsoviétiques, chapeautées par Moscou]strengthening cooperation with the West could have extremely undesirable consequences for the country. The United States does not give any guarantees to Armenia.†And to conclude: “Armenia is sacrificing its future for a bright future for the United States, while its own looks bleak.â€
According to the pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper Moscow Komsomolets, Armenia is “a tiny cog in a huge machine through which the United States plans to transport Central Asia’s resources bypassing Russia and Iranâ€. The day after this interview, on May 27, the American president, Donald Trump, gave his support “complete and total†to Nikol Pachinian’s candidacy for the legislative elections on June 7, in a message posted on his social network, Truth Social.
