RSC Director Richard Giragosian participated in France24’s “The Debate” program on 4 May, which featured a discussion, “Poking the bear? Armenia welcomes European leaders in Russia's backyard.” The show offered an insightful assessment of the first-ever gathering of EU leaders in Yerevan for a summit meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) and followed by an inaugural Armenia-EU summit.
The discussion also addressed other issues and developments in Europe, including European concerns over fresh US-imposed tariffs and a planned US troop drawdown announced for Germany and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s clarion call for so-called middle powers that share common interests and values to band together.
The show explored the analytical question over whether the EPC summit in Yerevan was a show of strength or a provocation sure to rile both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, one month before Armenia’s incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan goes before voters to sell his US-brokered peace deal with neighboring Azerbaijan in a general election. And panelists closed with an interactive conversation examining if “wars in Iran and Ukraine make Western-style liberal democracy an easier or a harder sell.”