Biden Didn't Meet With Mirzoyan Out of Affection for Ararat, He Needed to Send a Message to Azerbaijan: Hayk Martirosyan

Political scientist Hayk Martirosyan, commenting on the short meeting between Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and US President Joe Biden, stated: "The US president rarely meets, and even for five minutes talks with leaders of foreign states that are not close or important allies to the United States. In the best case, meetings with leaders of friendly countries, whether they are presidents, monarchs, or prime ministers, are brief or prolonged discussions with the secretaries of state. The secretary of state is the American foreign minister, although he has broader functions and is considered practically the second official of the country, ahead of even the vice president.

Today, President Biden met with Ararat Mirzoyan in New York. The US president met not with a foreign counterpart but with a tertiary official in Armenia, who has no real executive or political leverage in the current Armenian system. And President Biden did not do this because he has an affection for Ararat or for Yerevan's treacherous regime. Biden did this because he deemed it extremely necessary to send a message to Azerbaijan and, of course, to the Armenian public, that the US unconditionally supports Armenia. Here, regarding this issue, the format of officials and countries no longer matters. What matters is the essence of the matter. And this is a unique case.

Thus, a largely unheard and unseen event took place in New York today: the US president had a brief private conversation with a representative of the Armenian regime, demonstrating not exceptional goodwill towards the regime itself, but towards the country it represents, Armenia, and its importance to the US, as well as Washington's commitment to protecting Armenia in these dire times."