U.S. intends to hand over South Caucasus to Turkey and Azerbaijan  without security guarantees to Armenia - U.S. human rights activist 

ArmInfo.  The United States intends to hand over the South Caucasus region to the control of Turkey and Azerbaijan without providing Armenia with any security  guarantees. Stanford University professor Artur Khachikyan writes  this, citing the opinion of American human rights activist and head  of the nongovernmental organization Christian Solidarity  International (CSI), Dr. John Eibner.

According to Khachikyan, there is currently a distrust of the  opinions of local experts, including his own. It is for this reason  that he urged people to familiarize themselves with Eibner's theses.

He states that Eibner is convinced that Armenia should not rely on  guarantees provided by the United States. He cited the situation in  Ukraine as an example, and also pointed to President Donald Trump's  failure to persuade Turkey to open an Orthodox seminary in Istanbul.  He also noted that Trump spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham  Aliyev about releasing 23 Armenian prisoners of war in Baku, but  despite this, they remain in prison.

"As a result, Armenia will be forced to accept peace under the  conditions of subordination, similar to the Ottoman Empire. Armenians  will find themselves as an ethnic minority in Turkey and Azerbaijan,  deprived of human rights and democracy. They will have their own  Catholicos, but he will be subordinate to the Turkish-Azerbaijani  tandem. While some Armenians may succeed under these conditions, as  they did in the Ottoman Empire, they will be cut off from their  nation," the human rights activist noted.

Eibner also pointed to the possibility of large-scale investment from  Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Persian Gulf states, which, he claimed,  would lead to Armenians losing control of their country. "And  economic integration and dependence will inevitably lead to political  integration," the CSI director added.

One day, Eibner believes, an "Armenian quarter" similar to those in  Damascus and other Middle Eastern cities could emerge in Yerevan.

The human rights activist then quoted the US Ambassador to Turkey and  Special Envoy for the Middle East, Thomas Barak, who noted that the  countries that emerged after World War I were "tribes with flags" and  "artificial borders" that were never intended to be nation-states.  This statement, he said, clearly demonstrates the lack of prospects  for recognition of "Armenia's legitimacy by the United States."

In conclusion, he noted that the only way for Armenia to preserve its  national identity would be to strive to preserve what the country has  today, including the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). "Even if  Armenia has to submit to Turkey and Azerbaijan and lose its  statehood, this could help preserve their national identity," Einber  concluded.

As a reminder, on August 8, a trilateral meeting of the leaders of  the United States, Armenia, and Azerbaijan took place at the White  House. During this meeting, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,  US President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev  signed a joint declaration on the establishment of peace.