Restoring relations with Russia important for both Armenia and entire  region - Avet Adonts 

ArmInfo. Seeking to sign a "peace treaty" with Azerbaijan at any cost, the Armenian authorities agree to the conditions proposed by Baku, not caring at all about the  geopolitical changes taking place in the world. This was written on  the website of the Alternative Projects Group by former Deputy  Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Avet Adonts.

According to him, a process of forming a new world order is currently  being observed, and in parallel with it, new rules and trends are  already being formed in international politics and relations. "With  Donald Trump's rise to power in the United States, the dynamics of  this process have increased dramatically. If we formulate the logic  of the first term of the US presidency in economic and mathematical  language, it will look like this: reducing risks and costs to obtain  high profits and strengthen sustainable development and prospects.  The risks mainly concern the agenda of the international security  architecture. It is this agenda, given the high level of tension  between the East and the West, that has opened up uncertainty,  unpredictability and the real prospect of the start of World War III  to the international community. Trump's message that peace is  necessary and we must not allow a world war became the central theme  of his meeting with Zelensky in the Oval Office," the former Deputy  Foreign Minister believes.

On the other hand, according to him, the sharp turn in the political  course of the new US administration was marked not only by Trump's  first decrees, Vice President Vance's speech at the Munich Security  Conference addressed to the European elite, but also by the  appearance of Secretary of State Marco Rubio on television with a  cross on his forehead and the freezing of the work of the US Agency  for International Development (USAID). 

"There is a clear attempt to localize globalization, which the  previous administration was very enthusiastic about. Europe, in turn,  is reacting aggressively to changes in US foreign policy. This is  confirmed by the meeting of Europeans with Zelensky in London after  the famous meeting with the President of Ukraine in the White House,  and Macron's statements about the need for Europe's independence in  terms of ensuring its security, given that the main threat to Europe  comes from Russia. It is obvious that the European elite needs time  to change the vision and approaches formed by the Democrats. If this  does not happen, which is unlikely, then against the backdrop of  today's poor relations between Europe and the United States, as well  as the declared threats from the East, one should not exclude the  beginning of the process of forming a new European security system,  but without NATO, where the United States dominates. Such a scenario  is unlikely, but it cannot be ruled out," the diplomat noted.

He added that today the whole world is watching the ongoing  Russian-American negotiations. It is these negotiations that  determine how predictable the international situation will become,  how possible it will be to create a new international security  architecture, achieve peace in Ukraine and prevent further tensions.

In addition to Ukraine and the Middle East, Avet Adonts emphasized,  another hotbed of tension is the South Caucasus, where Armenia  suffered a defeat in the Karabakh war and the situation is still far  from stable after the current Armenian authorities recognized  Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.  After the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh and the expulsion of 120,000  Armenians, Azerbaijan continues its threats at the highest level, but  this time against Armenia and its people.

"The Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, exerting pressure, consistently  increases the level of its influence not only on the external, but  also on the internal political life of Armenia. Among their numerous  demands are the adoption of a new constitution of the Republic of  Armenia, the granting of the so-called "Zangezur corridor" to  Azerbaijan on an extraterritorial basis, and much more. At the same  time, today in Baku, in the person of the military-political  leadership of Artsakh, Armenia itself, the Armenian people, our  identity are being judged. It is difficult to imagine a more  humiliating situation. How does the current ruling regime of Armenia  react? Seeking to sign a "peace treaty" with Azerbaijan at any cost,  it agrees to the proposed conditions. Moreover, instead of  strengthening the security of the Republic of Armenia, the government  of the Republic of Armenia, having declared the country a "bastion of  democracy", purposefully whips up anti-Russian sentiments in Armenian  society, freezes its participation in the CSTO, consistently  implements the futile process of Armenia's membership in the EU,  justifying all this by steps aimed at strengthening the country's  security," the diplomat noted.

The former Deputy Foreign Minister believes that the Armenian  authorities are completely indifferent to the ongoing trial in Baku.  In contrast to the government's reluctance to involve the state  machine in this matter, businessman and politician Gagik Tsarukyan  recently returned an Armenian blogger from a Belarusian prison to her  homeland thanks to his connections and personal authority, and in a  special message asked not to connect this with his political or party  activities. Many years ago, the President of the Union of Armenians  of Russia Ara Abrahamyan returned Armenian pilots captured in an  African country to Armenia. In the context of a weakening state, the  role of the individual becomes much more important. It is also  necessary to understand that in the context of Trump's radical steps,  a new trend in the modern world is the increasing role of the  individual and personal connections. 

"Restoring relations with Russia is not easy, but it is possible.  This is an objective necessity not only for Armenia, but for the  entire region. In our bilateral relations, it is necessary to develop  not only the trade and economic component, but also to initiate a  political dialogue in an atmosphere of trust, and pay special  attention to the security agenda. In order to solve regional  problems, it is advisable to activate the "3+3" format, revive the  OSCE Minsk Group, and unfreeze Armenia's participation in the CSTO.  This should be done by knowledgeable, experienced and responsible  people who will be guided by the interests of Armenia, the Armenian  people, as well as the multi-million diaspora, a significant part of  which lives in Russia. As a result, Armenia will have the opportunity  to restore its place in the regional security architecture. Armenia's  foreign policy should be flexible and honest," Avet Adonts wrote.