INITIATIVE TOURISM

Lragir.am
18/12/09

"Turkey is going to be our friend neither today nor tomorrow. We are
just making use of the formed situation", stated the RP deputy head
Galust Sahakyan. Armenia is found out not to have formed the situation
in the Caucasus initiating the Armenian and Turkish process. Armenia
is just making use of the already-formed situation. Sahakyan with
the sincerity proper to him, revealed that the Armenian and Turkish
process is not a thorough planned action but just resourcefulness
to seize the opportunity. In other words, Armenia is just making
use of circumstances. What is going to happen after when the same
circumstances will play against Armenia is perhaps left to the mercy
of fate.

Galust Sahakyan’s revelation contradicts a little the official position
of the Armenian governmental propaganda which affirms that the Armenian
initiatively and active foreign policy enhanced Armenia’s role in the
world. No such a thing. Armenia is just seizing the opportunity. Of
course, resourcefulness is needed for it. But the problem is that
you cannot go far with the help of only wits. And the current state
of Armenia proves this. Evidently, Armenia does not know what to
do. Waiting for Turkey seems to be a strategical calculation.

In reality, apparently, Armenia just does not know what kind of
situation we have now and what to do under the current conditions.

Maybe waiting is necessary and Armenia is waiting. It is waiting to see
what Obama and Erdogan will decide, it is waiting for Hillary Clinton
to call, it is waiting for Vladimir Putin to arrive in Armenia, it is
waiting for a new loan to be allocated, for the co-chairs to arrive
in Armenia, it is waiting for Karabakh to become a negotiating party.

Armenia’s current foreign policy reminds rather a waiting policy than
initiative. The fact that the Armenian president leaves for Hungary or
the Latvian president arrives in Armenia which is even confused with
the Russian president here, or the fact that the Armenian president
leaves for Japan and then for the other end of the world to take part
in the meeting of Francophonie countries does not stand for initiative
at all. Mutual visits have never been and will never be an expression
of initiative. Initiative is the circulation of new political ideas,
new projects.

Armenia, besides the Armenian and Turkish invitation, has never put
in circulation other initiatives in the geopolitical or regional
processes. Armenia is just following the tracks of those processes,
imagining approximately that they are not bringing to anything bad. As
soon as this imagination breaks a little or becomes hazy, Armenia gives
up and starts waiting. This may really be a smart and reasonable step
that Armenia can do in such a case. But just imagine the conditions
of the country, of its current resources and possibilities if the
smartest thing to do in case of a dynamic development of geopolitical
process is waiting.

In addition, if the point was only about the foreign policy, it would
be an optimal decision. But the problem is that the Armenian government
is waiting inside the country, in connection with the home issues,
connection of business and the government, monopole economic clans,
legal willfulness. While, not waiting in relation to these issues and
carrying out reforms, the government could at least justify its waiting
policy in the foreign policy sphere because in case of a solution of
home issues, Armenia could enhance its positions and when the time
for Armenia to act came, it could be braver and would not set hopes
on seizing the opportunity but it would create situation itself.

But the government is waiting both inside and outside the country. And
it is waiting with the opposite logic- not to firm its positions
outside on account of the inside, but to survive inside on account
of the outside world.