Expert: South Caucasus is of little interest to  US

ArmInfo. From the perspective of the Donald Trump administration and his allies, the  South Caucasus is not a priority region for the United States: even national security documents barely mention it. Georgy Asatryan, deputy director of the Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy at the Higher School of Economics and associate professor at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, made this statement during a Yerevan-Moscow videoconference on "US Strategy in and Around the South Caucasus," commenting on US Vice President J.D. Vance's  visit to Baku and Yerevan.

According to the expert, President Trump does not view the South  Caucasus as an important region for advancing his interests.  Moreover, Asatryan emphasized that the US's attitude toward Armenia  in this context is perceived by the ruling class as a second- or  third-tier country.

According to Asatryan, there are several factors influencing US  interests in the region. "This set of factors, of course, includes  attempts to contain Russia and Iran-these are classic geopolitical  aspects that remain, although their significance may vary. Secondly,  it is important for Trump to advance Israel's interests, which also  include containing Iran. Some countries in the South Caucasus are  already involved in these processes, while others are trying to  counteract them," the expert clarified.

Asatryan noted that  Trump is interested in business and energy. "He  values regions where he can capitalize on US political  influence-where he can get paid or where he can strike lucrative  deals. From this perspective, Azerbaijan appears to be a more serious  political actor today," the expert believes. The expert further  acknowledged that during J.D. Vance's regional tour, the seriousness  and businesslike nature of Vance's visit to Baku was significantly  higher. "People there were more reserved and talked about matters  involving serious American business representatives," he noted.  Asatryan pointed out that the Trump administration's strategy in the  South Caucasus is to find partners from whom they can profit. In this  regard, he noted that the reconnaissance drones supplied to Armenia  are technology from 2010 and are nothing special. "These drones  haven't proven themselves in combat and are standard reconnaissance  devices. Many military experts believe their high cost is  unjustified. That is, it's no shame that the Americans sold them for  a high price. This is obvious. Drones are something that should be  produced domestically. Even third-world countries are already doing  this themselves. I know that Armenia has had some experience in drone  production, and purchasing 2010 technology for that kind of money  will hinder this development," the expert noted.

Asatryan also considered it important to note that the Trump  administration's interests in the Caucasus include energy and  economic deals, where, of course, wealthy Azerbaijan, with its  working business contacts, is a priority. "However, there are no and  never have been any deep geopolitical projects in this context, as  there are adequate restrictions in the interests of American policy  in the region, given its location and limitations in terms of economy  and infrastructure," the expert concluded.