Sargsyan’s Remarks Echo Kocharian’s Paranoia: US Diplomat

Then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan “sharply criticized” both the US embassy in Yerevan and Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Matthew Bryza during a Mar. 22 lunch with European ambassadors, writes then US Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) to Armenia Joseph Pennington, citing two ambassadors who attending the lunch, in a Mar. 31, 2008 confidential cable recently released by WikiLeaks.

“Sargsyan reportedly claimed to the Europeans that the Armenian opposition ‘is being run out of the US embassy,’ but provided no specifics to back up the allegation. Sargsyan also asserted that DAS Bryza ‘told me one thing when he was in Yerevan, then went back to Washington and said something completely different.’ (Note: We assume that the PM was referring to some of DAS Bryza’s comments to the media following his recent visit here, but the PM failed to get into specifics.) The PM also reportedly lashed out at several EU Ambassadors who were at the lunch, particularly the German, because their governments issued travel advisories following the violence in Yerevan on March 1-2. The Ambassadors of France and the EU gave roughly similar accounts of the PM’s comments to the Charge over the past few days,” reads the cable.

Pennington concludes the cable by noting that Sargsyan’s comments “reinforce our view that neither the PM nor his inner circle have much understanding of the way Western governments operate”:

“The PM apparently confuses embassy contacts with the opposition with embassy support for the opposition. His remarks echo President Kocharian’s frequently displayed paranoia that the embassy — in league with NDI, Radio Liberty and others — is seeking to foment a ‘color revolution’ in Armenia. The PM appears also to have misinterpreted DAS Bryza’s diplomatic language and encouragement to reform during his meeting with Sargsyan as a pledge not to criticize the Armenian authorities for the post-election crackdown. If PM Sargsyan is to make good on his stated intention to return Armenia to the path of reform when he assumes office on Apr. 9, he will need to seek advice from someone with a more sophisticated understanding of the West and the ways of international diplomacy.”