Pashinyan's Latest Gift to Putin: '168 Hours'

'168 Hours' newspaper writes: 'The Armenian government has yet to provide any rational explanation for its decision to send a humanitarian mission to Syria.

The declarations that this was aimed at supporting the resolution of humanitarian issues in Syria are laughable. Moreover, considering we have an Armenian community in Syria, our 'humanitarian' mission threatens their vulnerability, making these statements not just laughable but tragic.

The decision to send a mission to Syria is dangerous both for our community there and from a geopolitical perspective.

Thus, Armenia is directly aligning itself with the Russian side in the complex Syrian crisis, prompting a rather strong, critical statement from the U.S. State Department.

With this move, Armenia has entered into a very complicated situation without any substantive arguments in favor of national interests. This raises the question of why Armenia has engaged in a narrative that could be dangerous for both the Armenian community living in Syria and for the mission being sent, and in the long term, for Armenia's foreign policy.

The answer is not as complicated as it seems at first glance, and it has little to do with foreign policy.

On the contrary, the reasons lie within Armenia itself, in the actions and motivations of the government. Since the April Revolution, no matter how much Nikol Pashinyan claims that Armenia's foreign policy has not undergone vectorial changes, the Russian authorities, including Vladimir Putin, do not trust the Armenian Prime Minister.

They do not trust him and do not hide it.

For a long time, Armenia's foreign policy has been built on easing and smoothing this distrust. In this regard, no distinction is made in the means employed to achieve that goal. It is in this context that the decision to send a humanitarian mission to Syria should be viewed. It was done to please Russia and personally Vladimir Putin.

And the Armenian authorities seem little concerned about the threats stemming from this move.

In fact, they appear satisfied and flattered by the fact that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu expressed gratitude to Armenia for sending the humanitarian mission to Syria.

Upon coming to power, Nikol Pashinyan immediately understood that the formula for maintaining power in Armenia passes through the Kremlin.

He realized this and has devoted himself even more recklessly to serving Russian interests than was done previously. And in that sense, sending a humanitarian mission to Syria may be just the lesser of evils.

It’s hard to say what else the Armenian government is willing to do in order to appease Russia.

Sending a humanitarian mission to Syria was Nikol Pashinyan's gift to Russia. It seems, not the last, but yet another gift.'

For more details, read today's issue of the newspaper.