Analyst: Biden seeks to become 'godfather' of Armenian-Azeri peace agreement
Political analyst Suren Sargsyan has weighed in on U.S. President Joe Biden’s letters to the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders publicized recently.
The letters, which were delivered to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev by Biden’s special assistant Michael Carpenter, encouraged both leaders to finalize a bilateral peace agreement this year.
“As you know, finalizing the remaining articles of the peace agreement will require persistence, ingenuity, and compromise,” read the letter to Pashinyan. “But putting patriotism above politics, you have courageously and consistently chosen the path of peace - and I encourage you to finalize an agreement this year.”
“As you do, my administration is prepared to take bold initiatives that would help pave the way for peace. I have asked my Senior Director for Europe, Michael Carpenter, to brief you on some of the steps we would be willing to take and get your feedback on discussions with Azerbaijan,” Biden added.
“It is a common practice in the U.S. diplomacy to send letters along with envoys to the leaders of host countries. Just remember Samantha Power's visit to Armenia in 2023 and Joe Biden's letter to the prime minister!” Sargsyan wrote on Facebook on Wednesday, adding the letters reflected the U.S. policy and used general wording.
“The striking thing about this is the timing. The Biden administration has 3 months left to hand over power to Trump or Harris. Naturally, Biden wants the 4-year contribution of his administration to the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations to reach its logical conclusion for Biden to rightfully become the godfather of the peace agreement.
“Outgoing President Biden, who has more experience in foreign policy than any other U.S. president in the past 30 years, perfectly realizes that neither the Trump nor the Harris administration will prioritize our region, hence all of his accomplishments, if not forgotten, will significantly retard. On the other hand, he wants to leave a success story in his legacy in terms of forging peace, which is not yet there,” Sargsyan charged.
“Naturally, the conclusion of a peace agreement and the resolution of the conflict in the South Caucasus (as announced in Biden's national security strategy) are also crucial when it comes to the U.S. foreign policy interests, which in turn makes the Biden administration fight for these interests until the last minute (12 a.m. on January 20),” he added.