“Are Washington and Moscow watching?” Visits of the heads of US and Russian special services to Yerevan
Heads of the US and Russian special services in Yerevan
Why would the heads of foreign intelligence of the United States and Russia come to Yerevan with a difference of several days is a question that is now being actively discussed in the Armenian media.
Official information about the visits of William Burns and Sergei Naryshkin is minimal. It is reported that they were received by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Burns also met with Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan. There are no reports of Naryshkin’s other meetings. However he told reporters that after talking with Pashinyan, he met with the head of the National Security Service.
The reason that prompted the visits of the heads of the intelligence departments of the United States and Russia one after another is unknown, same as what they discussed with the Armenian authorities.
All the currently known information , as well as expert commentary – what these visits can be associated with, what they could mean.
- Op-ed: Can Armenia and Georgia be sanctioned for helping Russia bypass international restrictions?
- Will Armenia follow Russia’s example in controlling and censoring publications on the Internet?
- Russia vs West in South Caucasus – Opinion from Armenia
What is known about the Pashinyan-Burns and Pashinyan-Naryshkin meetings
The US CIA head William Burns and Armenian Prime Minister discussed
- issues of international and regional security
- topics related to the fight against terrorism
- processes taking place in the South Caucasus
The Prime Minister’s official website reports that the same topics were discussed with the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, Sergei Naryshkin, with the exception of the fight against terrorism.
This was the first visit of the CIA chief Burns to Armenia. It was first reported by the Russian media, citing anonymous diplomatic sources. The US Embassy in Armenia did not comment on the visit of the head of the CIA, while the National Security Service of Armenia, when asked by journalists about his visit, answered that they did not have such information.
In 2005-2008, William Burns was the US Ambassador to Russia.
The message about the meeting between Pashinyan and Burns was brief, it only listed the issues discussed by the sides.
The text about the meeting with Naryshkin was longer.
“The Prime Minister noted that the visit of Mr. Naryshkin is another good opportunity to discuss issues on the agenda of the Armenian-Russian allied relations. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and expressed confidence that joint efforts will make cooperation stronger and more effective,” the official statement says.
Naryshkin pointed at “the fact of political dialogue between Armenia and Russia on a high level, which contributes to the development and strengthening of cooperation in various fields.”
Other meetings with Burns and Naryshkin
On July 15, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency met with the Secretary of the Armenian Security Council. William Burns and Armen Grigoryan discussed
- further development of Armenia-US bilateral relations
- Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey negotiation processes.
“During the meeting, the Secretary of the Security Council presented the regional security situation, the existing challenges and Armenia’s approach to establishing peace in the region,” the statement released by the Security Council says.
As for the visit of Sergei Naryshkin, only his meeting with the Prime Minister was officially reported. The head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service told reporters that he managed to meet with the director of the National Security Service Armen Abazyan.
“My colleague and I discussed the exchange of intelligence information, joint actions aimed at identifying and preventing a whole range of external threats. Threats to both Armenia and Russia,” Naryshkin stressed.
“Russia has enough strength and resources to protect allies and friends”
Speaking with Armenian journalists, Sergei Naryshkin reminded about the integration structures operating in the region: the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the CSTO military bloc. Both structures operate under the auspices of Russia, and Armenia is represented in both of them. Naryshkin said that they are a reliable guarantee of stability.
“These structures were created taking into account the interests of all the states that are part of them. Integration protection tools are a good guarantee of maintaining stability and security. In addition, the Russian Federation has enough strength and resources to protect allies and friends in difficult times,” he stressed.
Prior to the arrival of the head of the Russian intelligence service, Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said that consultations had begun with colleagues on the creation of a foreign intelligence service.
Upon his arrival, Naryshkin spoke out on this issue. He claims that the creation of such a service is a question for the political leadership of Armenia to decide, but if it is decided to create it, Russia is ready to support:
“We will provide any methodological assistance and support. We will cooperate as reliably and consistently as we have until today.”
Is there a connection between the visits of Burns and Naryshkin
Prior to Naryshkin’s visit, Armenian experts argued that Burns’ first visit to Armenia simply could not be related to the processes taking place in Armenia or the region. They considered it more likely that the head of the CIA came to Yerevan to meet with Russian representatives and discuss with them the events unfolding in Ukraine.
Naryshkin assured journalists that his visit had nothing to do with the visit of his American colleague.
“But I do not rule out that his visit is connected with my trip,” he said.
Commentary
According to political observer Hakob Badalyan, the visit of the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency was of a regional nature. He says that Baku and Tbilisi did not officially report on the meetings, the American side also abstained, the information only leaked to the media in Yerevan.
“Burns’ visit was mainly related to the US agenda around Iran related to the Iranian nuclear program. In this context, of course, it also had a certain cognitive character in relation to the region,” Hakob Badalyan told JAMnews.
According to the political observer, at this stage, the American side is also interested in the Brussels process to normalize Armenian-Azerbaijani relations as a counterbalance to the Moscow format.
In his opinion, it was for this reason that Burns met not only with the Prime Minister, but also with the Secretary of the Security Council in Yerevan. It is common knowledge that Armen Grigoryan participates in the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations and meets with the Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev.
According to Badalyan, the visit of the American guest to Yerevan was being prepared several months ago, and in turn, Russia was preparing for a return visit.
The political scientist sees “the logic of revision” in the visit of the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin.
“Naryshkin came to Yerevan with an equal subordinate weight to fix: the Russian Federation retains its positions in the region and does not intend to give them up,” he emphasizes.
According to the expert, this idea was hidden in the subtext of all Naryshkin’s statements, including the phrase “Russia has enough strength and resources to protect allies and friends.”
Heads of the US and Russian special services in Yerevan
