Following the agreement with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, the conflict between Armenia’s political and religious leaders continues in the United States. The Armenian Embassy in Washington announced a meeting with Matthew Potter, co-founder of an Evangelical platform close to the American far right. This is a new attempt by Pashinyan to undermine the historic authority of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Katholikos Karekin II's opposition to Prime Minister Pašinyan's policy on agreements with Azerbaijan is only the latest chapter in a ‘rivalry’ that has its roots in the very origins of what was the world's first Christian state. And Karabakh, which the Church does not want to cede definitively, was a symbol of the defence of its identity during the years of Soviet domination.
The Washington meeting confirmed the role of the US as mediator in place of Russia. Many issues remain to be resolved, including the international disputes between Yerevan and Baku, borders and prisoners. But the central issue is the opening of the so-called ‘Zangezur Corridor’, renamed the ‘Trump Corridor’ and under US control. The challenge for the Armenian Church.
After the incident involving a plane carrying 67 people that crashed in December due to “interference” with the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia are once again in the midst of a diplomatic crisis over a police raid. In the background is the crisis of Russian influence in the Caucasus, increasingly overshadowed by Turkish activism in the region.
Two archbishops (including Galstanyan) are in prison after a police raid on the patriarchate in Echmiadzin. Pashinyan directly accuses Catholicos Karekin II and calls for his removal, while the Armenian clergy responds by invoking the excommunication of the prime minister. According to the government, Moscow is behind the Church's ‘manoeuvres’, but other voices denounce the use of branding all opposition with ‘the stamp of Kremlin spies’. In the background are geopolitical balances and negotiations with Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan is on the front line of the conflict between Israel and Iran, with its ambivalent role as a strategic partner of Tel Aviv and complex and contradictory relations with Tehran. But neighbouring Armenia also openly expresses fears that the conflict could be protracted, involving other countries in the region.
