Political analyst Suren Sargsyan has called the visit of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to the U.S. in early May a "complete failure".
"Ararat Mirzoyan failed to raise issues concerning Artsakh's status and its peoples' right to self-determination in Washington. Globally, Mirzoyan's visit to Washington was a fiasco. Now I am going to justify my claims:
1. The 30th anniversary of the establishment of the relations was a serious reason to review and update the agenda of Armenian-U.S. relations, which, however, wasn't done.
2. To mark the 30th anniversary, a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken was arranged. Unfortunately, the meeting was not used to discuss pressing issues on the agenda or to push for an agenda stemming from our interests.
3. Instead, a document on civil nuclear cooperation was signed, which has nothing to do with Armenia's vital interests. It is an American agenda, and the Americans are signing this document with dozens of developing nations.
4. During nearly a dozen meetings, Ararat Mirzoyan didn't raise issues related to Artsakh's status, the recognition of Artsakh's independence and the right of nations to self-determination. As we can see, the American side does in his stead.
5. Speaking about the Congress, don't you know any other congressmen or senators? There are 100 senators and 435 Congress members in the United States. Don't you have a desire to make new friends? Why do you always communicate with the same people?
6. A meeting was arranged with Mirzoyan at the Atlantic Council think tank (don't you know another think tank?) in attendance of only 20 people, including the embassy staff and the official delegation, occupying more than half the room.
7. It was obvious that the Armenian side wanted to “extort” from Washington several important messages for their use in the domestic political arena. In particular, the messages were about the U.S. support for the reforms launched by the Armenian government. All Armenian governments without exception, including Vazgen Manukyan's government, have heard this message. It should be capitalized on and not turned into a domestic political message," the analyst wrote on Facebook on Friday.