But not at all the ones that Washington may have hoped for. The Biden administration sent too odious a crowd to the region.
USAID chief Samantha Power has long been known for her Turkophobia and over-the-top pro-Armenian sentiments. This applies both to the “1915 genocide” and the situation in Karabakh.
This is the very same Samantha Power who declared April 24, the “Armenian Genocide Day”, her “birthday”, author of the scandalous book A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, where she described in detail the ideological and “legal” mechanisms of recognizing the “Armenian genocide”. Predictably, she was overjoyed by the Biden administration’s recognition of the events of 1915 as “genocide.” During the 44-day war she was foaming at the mouth in defense of the Armenian occupiers and stooped to direct insults of the Azerbaijani people and the Turkic world. After the war, during her trip to Armenia, she even called Azerbaijan and Türkiye “savages”.
It is all the more interesting to look at Samantha Power’s ties to the notorious oligarch provocateur Ruben Vardanyan, the one who lives illegally in Karabakh and seeks to obstruct the peace process as much as possible. According to Power, “if Ruben Vardanyan were involved in the peace process in the Middle East, there would be no wars.” One wonders where this confidence comes from. Has Vardanyan already proven himself as a peacemaker somewhere? As a successful diplomat, albeit a “citizen” one? Perhaps Ms. Power believes all that the success of the peace process in the Middle East is missing is the “laundromat” that was Vardanyan’s bank, Troika Dialog? Alas, there is a simple answer. In 2018, Samantha Power won the Aurora Prize, established by one of Ruben Vardanyan’s foundations. And now she is earning her award.
In American political culture, this kind of situation is called a “conflict of interest”. The written and unwritten rules of American political ethics demand that in a case like this, one should either leave the civil service altogether, or at least not engage in projects where this conflict of interest might emerge.
But neither Samantha Power herself nor her employers in the Biden administration see anything objectionable in the fact that this lady is in charge of USAID, the largest US organization for providing assistance to other states. And this cannot but raise questions for Azerbaijan and Türkiye, where USAID supports many projects.
Indeed, if USAID is run by a person so clearly sympathetic to Armenia, then to whose interests are the projects she supports “tailored”? There is no hope that Ms. Power is capable of drawing “red lines” and distinguishing between work and personal leanings. She “loses her way” even in matters of official authority.
And why was it necessary to send her, of all people, to the region in the first place? At such a sensitive time, too? Especially in tandem with Yuri Kim, who has hopelessly tarnished her reputation after the scandalous congressional hearings? Was it to promote US mediation? But that requires diplomats who can be trusted by both sides, i.e., Armenia and Azerbaijan. Neither Power nor Kim can be regarded as such.
Was it to negotiate humanitarian aid to the Armenians of Karabakh, stubbornly referred to in Washington as “Nagorno-Karabakh”? They should have gone to Baku for that. Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan, and our country has full control over its borders. Was is to probe the issue of some “international mission” that would monitor the enforcement of the rights and security of the Karabakh Armenians? Firstly, Baku has repeatedly stated that it considers such “international monitoring” as interference in its internal affairs and will not agree to anything of the kind. And secondly, if Washington expects to “persuade”, “promote”, etc., it is Baku, not Yerevan, they should talk to. And yes, it should be done by diplomats trusted by both sides, not by controversial figures like Power and Kim.
But then who needed this scandalous “diplomatic landing party” with such a track record? Why were these ladies sent to the region? Perhaps the clue lies in the fact that Samantha Power got her job as head of USAID thanks to George Soros. The same Soros who played no small part in bringing Nikol Pashinyan to power in Armenia. And one can assume that this landing party arrived in Armenia with a clear purpose of supporting Pashinyan, whose prime ministerial seat is clearly trembling and wobbling. That is why they sent the most odious ladies to pour balm on the soul and ears of the Armenian audience. How much of it really is balm and how much is baloney is a matter for later. For now, Washington is addressing its immediate goal of strengthening its position in Armenia. Except that… Armenia is a member of the EAEU and the CSTO. For all his puffed-up cheeks, Pashinyan has not even bothered to stop the activities of the joint groupings of land forces and air defense forces, let alone control over borders or infrastructure. To talk about Armenia’s transition to the Western camp in this situation is something out of the fantasy genre. And it does not matter whether Pashinyan retains his seat or gets ousted.
But the US position in Azerbaijan is seriously undermined as a result of Madame Power’s statements. And Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, is not only oil, gas and energy security of Europe, but also a road to Central Asia, where Washington is now unfolding serious activity. If all this is now at risk thanks to what Madame Power was saying in Yerevan… it can hardly be called a well-thought-out diplomacy.
