Geopolitical Implications of Pro-Democracy Movement in Armenia: What's at Stake for the US?

The geopolitical implications of the events taking place in Armenia today are difficult to understate. It all began by an armed takeover of a large police compound in downtown Yerevan by a group of 31 civil activists and veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) war. The attackers made two demands: release of all political prisoners and resignation of Serge Sargsyan. The timing of the action by the group is widely seen as having to do with the outcome of the 4-day war with Azerbaijan in April 2016, which ended with minor territorial losses for the Armenian side.

There are expectations that a Russian peace plan will soon be imposed in NK based on the ceding of five tactically vital districts to Azerbaijan and agreeing to the presence of Russian troops as “peacekeepers.” As a result, the remaining NK enclave will be rendered indefensible. Russia intends to use this measure to deepen Armenia’s dependence on Moscow while at the same time improving relations with an ever more powerful Azerbaijan. This will have grave and irreversible consequences for the Western interests in the region and therefore should be taken very seriously by policymakers in Washington.

Join GW Law's International and Comparative Law Program and Policy Forum Armenia for a high-level policy panel discussion on these issues and what is at stake for the United States.

Panel Information

Moderator:

• Susan Karamanian - Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies, GW Law

​Setting the Stage:

• Lilit Gevorgyan - Russia & CIS Senior Economist, IHS Global Insight

​Panelists:

• Ambassador (Ret.) John Herbst - Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, The Atlantic Council
• F. Stephen Larrabee - Distinguished Chair For European Security, Rand Corporation
• Professor Andrew Novo - College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University