International analysts have already noticed that the attitude of the leading geopolitical forces towards the states of the South Caucasus has changed dramatically, and literally in recent weeks.

With regard to Georgia, its European allies are clearly beginning to pursue a policy of "twisting hands". Here they cross the line where equal cooperation ends and gross interference in the country's internal affairs begins. This was especially evident in the imposition of the so-called "LGBT march" on Georgia on July 5, 2021, the attitude towards which among the majority of the Georgian population is negative. The Georgian authorities are well aware of this, therefore they said that they would not be able to ensure the safety of this action.

At the same time, attacks by the "pro-European" liberal forces in Georgia on the Georgian Orthodox Church, which consistently stands for the protection of traditional values ​​and is one of the main foundations of Georgian statehood, sharply intensified.

At the same time, even after the dubious event scheduled for July 5, 2021, contrary to Georgian traditions, was canceled, there was a new reason for EU pressure on Georgia - allegedly "the persecution of journalists by the authorities." It got to the point that the operator of one of the TV channels who died from a drug overdose, but before that had a conflict with LGBT opponents, was recorded as a “victim” of the Georgian Dream coalition ruling in Georgia.

However, in what, but in "anti-European sentiments", the ruling "Georgian Dream" cannot be blamed in any way. Suffice it to recall that the founder of the "Georgian Dream", the well-known Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili had French citizenship at one time, and Salome Zurabishvili was nominated by the "Georgian Dream" for the presidency of the French citizen.

Nevertheless, in the "Georgian Dream", the interests of Georgia itself began to be put in the first place. In addition, they are well aware of the traditions of their people and therefore do not want to aggressively impose on them some dubious so-called. "European values" (which, moreover, such a full EU member as Hungary does not want to impose on its people).

All this rather testifies to the fact that Georgia is no longer a key country in the South Caucasus for the EU. There, the Georgian authorities are no longer going to “courting” her and are moving on to a crude “twisting of her arms”.

However, against the background of this, the European Union suddenly began to show much more "sympathy" towards Armenia than towards Georgia. Moreover, it became known that the European Union will provide Armenia with "financial assistance" for 2.6 billion euros. This very amount was promised this weekend by the President of the European Union Charles Michel during his visit to Yerevan. Moreover, the EU wants to spend this money not on the restoration of the entire region after the war, not on projects for the revival of the liberated Azerbaijani territories, turned into a desert and ruins by the Armenian occupation, but specifically on Armenia, the main culprit of wars and conflicts in the South Caucasus.

Analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza Andrey Petrov in the article “Dry analytics from Petrov. What will come out of the EU's attempt to buy Armenia? " (vestikavkaza.ru/material/355776) shows how significant this amount is. If we take the budget of Armenia in the non-crisis year of 2019 (when Armenia did not have overspending on active hostilities against Azerbaijan and the economy did not fall due to the consequences of the pandemic, as in 2020), then 2.6 billion euros is 22.5% of the state budget.

More importantly, this year the budget deficit in Armenia is 0.6 billion euros, therefore, the EU completely closes the hole in the Armenian state budget and provides a “financial cushion” for the coming years.

A comparison with the help that the EU provides to Georgia, which is oriented towards Euro-Atlantic integration, is indicative: Tbilisi receives an average of 130 million euros a year from Brussels. That is, the European Union wants to give Armenia as much money as Georgia received in 20 years. The budget of the European Union itself as a supranational structure in 2021 amounts to 164.3 billion euros on the revenue side and 166.1 billion euros on the expenditure side, that is, it is in short supply - European officials have to close the hole of 1.8 billion euros themselves. And in such conditions, they decide to help Armenia with 2.6 billion euros.

The EU does not at all require Armenia to “protect the rights of LGBT people” and “hold gay parades”. However, most likely the EU understands that this will not be the case. It is no coincidence that Armenian nationalists are so fond of extolling director Sergei Parajanov, who belongs to this category, and Nikol Pashinyan, after coming to power, even made a speech from the rostrum of the parliament of a transgender person.

Also, the EU has no claims today against Echmiadzin and the Armenian Church. And this is against the backdrop of attacks on the Georgian Orthodox Church. This gives the Armenian nationalists additional "trump cards" in absolutely illegal official claims to 465 Georgian churches on the territory of Georgia and actually unties Echmiadzin's hands in the destruction of Georgian shrines on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

The EU's attitude towards Georgia now looks clearly discriminatory against the background of the clear “patronage” of Armenia, which is far from democracy, and the intention to finance the Yerevan regime. Against the background of the fact that the EU has almost "forgotten" about the territories of Georgia occupied by Russia - Abkhazia, etc. "South Ossetia", on the part of European countries, primarily France, is clearly supporting Armenia's claims to foreign lands and its revanchist plans in relation to Azerbaijani Karabakh.

Information was leaked to the media that eight months after Azerbaijan liberated its territories, Armenia surrendered and signed a declaration of ceasefire and all hostilities in the Karabakh conflict zone with the mediation of Russia, the EU is trying to "replay the situation." French and Armenian diplomats are holding intensive meetings in Yerevan, Paris, and New York, where the UN headquarters is located. The purpose of these meetings is to try to de-legitimize this trilateral statement that ended the war in the region. It is also reported that President Emmanuel Macron and acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan is considering the possibility of adopting a new plan, involving a revision of the previous UN Security Council resolution on the situation in Karabakh.

Recall that, according to the tripartite document signed on November 9, Russian servicemen must control the situation along the contact line and the Lachin corridor for five years, and only after this line the parties can refuse to mediate Russia. And here the EU and France clearly would like to “take Russia out of the game”. In Paris, he is considering the possibility of introducing "its" troops into the South Caucasus and their deployment along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and even in Karabakh itself. Moreover, it can be either French troops or European ones, or the so-called "collective West". The main thing for Paris now, apparently, is to disrupt the implementation of peace agreements and unblock transit corridors.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have already discussed options for joint actions "to achieve long-term peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan" in Washington. Those. it is obvious that the results of the Second Karabakh war did not suit Paris and France wants to return to the South Caucasus.

Paris is clearly "disappointed" by the constructive position of the Georgian authorities, which primarily upholds Georgian national interests, and during the Second Karabakh War, which blocked the supply of weapons and the transfer of mercenaries across its territory. It is not accidental, it was after the Second Karabakh War that there was a clear "cooling" in the attitude of official Paris towards Tbilisi.

Against this background, the visit to Yerevan of the President of the European Council Charles Michel, who is considered a protégé of Emmanuel Macron, instilled in the Armenian leaders the hope that Europe will support their revanchist plans. However, Charles Michel expressed himself “diplomatically”: “The EU wants to be a loyal, involved, active partner for ensuring the well-being, stability and security of Armenia” and what he meant by the word “security” that the EU wants to provide remains unclear. But it is very significant that Charles Michel, who before these "twisted the hands" of the Georgian authorities demanding to make concessions to the opposition, here unconditionally confirmed the EU's intention to allocate a financial package of 2.6 billion euros to Armenia to solve "priority tasks for the country."

It seems that the European Union is simply buying out "a block of shares in the state of Armenia", turning it into a springboard for realizing their interests in the South Caucasus. And France, where a huge Armenian diaspora lives, intends to become the main "patron" of the regime in Yerevan and with its help "keep at gunpoint" strategic transit communications. And if possible, slow down the opening of the strategically important Zangezur corridor, which will function “without looking back” on the interests of Paris where they run counter to the interests of the overwhelming majority of countries in Europe and Asia.

It is also interesting that the EU began to demonstrate indicative "steps towards Armenia" on the eve of the official visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Moscow, where he met and negotiated with Russian President Vladimir Putin and confirmed mutually beneficial plans of cooperation between the two countries.

It is obvious that the EU not only clearly seeks to "oust Russia" from the South Caucasus, but is opposed to the countries of the South Caucasus pursuing a sovereign policy, defending their national interests. Since Georgia and Azerbaijan, where national interests are at issue, find the strength to ignore the destructive ultimatums of the EU, the priority is clearly given to making Armenia their "complete puppet".

It is obvious that the EU not only clearly seeks to "oust Russia" from the South Caucasus, but is opposed to the countries of the South Caucasus pursuing a sovereign policy, defending their national interests. Since Georgia and Azerbaijan, where national interests are at issue, find the strength to ignore the destructive ultimatums of the EU, the priority is clearly given to making Armenia their "complete puppet".

It is no coincidence that the traditionally more Russia-oriented Armenian “Javakh” separatists are becoming sharply “pro-European” before our eyes. And their mouthpiece in Georgia, the jam-news.net publication, suddenly began to abruptly defend "European values", "LGBT rights" while simultaneously replicating malicious slander against the Georgian Orthodox Church and the Georgian government where they defend national interests.

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