EU’s 15-million-euro support is a classic case of interference in Armenia’s affairs: Badalyan

Yesterday in Brussels, it was announced that the European Union will allocate 15 million euros in support ahead of Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. The funds, according to EU officials, are intended to promote peace and strengthen Armenia’s resilience, particularly against Russian disinformation during the election period.

“This is the same toolkit we used in Moldova, and Armenia is also interested in it,” said Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

In an interview with Aysor.am, electoral technology specialist Armen Badalyan said that this is a classic example of interference in Armenia’s internal affairs.

“The EU – an alliance of foreign states – is providing 15 million euros to influence electoral processes in another country under the pretext of countering interference from a third country. Kaja Kallas made it clear they intend to act according to the Moldovan model. And the essence of that model is simple: the EU is not going to sit quietly and watch a potential change of power in Armenia through free and transparent elections. This means that they will use all possible fair and especially unfair technologies, that is, not registering parties, labeling campaigns as ‘pro-Russian,’ and funding efforts to counter them. Kaja Kallas’s speech was a very clear message: in Armenia power cannot be changed through elections.”

According to Badalyan, opposition do not perceive the reality very well: they are analyzing the Vagharshapat elections and trying to learn from their mistakes to succeed in the parliamentary elections.

“That approach is wrong. Local elections involve different opposition forces competing with the Civil Contract party, whereas parliamentary elections are a geopolitical process. The 15 million euros provided are only in the public sphere, let’s not forget that an EU political gathering will take place in Yerevan in May. This is essentially pre-election campaigning and support for the current authorities. The EU will do everything to ensure that this government or another pro-Western force allied with it remains in power. This government fully meets the EU’s expectations,” he said.

The political analyst claimed that the opposition must change its strategy.

“They need to find a number one ally for the elections. At this moment, the number one ally is the Islamic Republic of Iran, which does not like it the growing Western influence in Armenia. For Iran, the fight against globalists is an existential issue, while in Armenia the perception of Iran is shaped by television stereotypes. They think that Russia will be able to help them, but Russia could do nothing in Moldova - it tried everything and still lost. If the opposition does not change its strategy, there is a very high likelihood that it will be defeated and the current government remain in power for another five years,” said Armen Badalyan.