The two-day virtual summit which began on Wednesday is designed to promote democratic governance around the world in the face of rising authoritarianism. Biden was due to pledge $690 million in U.S. government funding for democracy programs around the world.
“Worldwide, we see autocrats violating human rights and suppressing fundamental freedoms; corrupting -- and with corruption eating away at young people's faith in their future; citizens questioning whether democracy can still deliver on the issues that matter most to their lives,” The Associated Press quoted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying at a pre-summit virtual event on Tuesday.
Russia scoffed at the summit on Wednesday, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying it "can hardly be classified as some kind of serious event." Washington is still “aspiring to the role of global teacher of so-called democracy,” he told reporters.
“As regards those who chose to take part in this lesson, it’s their sovereign business,” Peskov said when asked about Armenia’s participation in the event.
Addressing the summit, Pashinian insisted that his government “continues to implement a democratic reform agenda.”
“As a result of that, our country has improved its positions in various global rankings,” he said.
Pashinian went on to mention the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and, in particular, Azerbaijan’s offensive military operations launched along the Armenian border last September.
ARMENIA - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accepts a bouquet of flowers from Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Yerevan, September 18, 2022,
“It was back in September that we felt the union of democracies and the clear condemnation of aggression against Armenia,” he said, referring to Western powers. “I want to take this opportunity and extend our gratitude to the United States and other partners that helped us stop the further incursion through diplomatic engagement.”
Pashinian and other senior Armenian officials have repeatedly complained about what they see as a lack of such support from Russia, Armenia’s main ally. Relations between Moscow and Yerevan have significantly deteriorated in recent months.
Pashinian also took part in the first Summit for Democracy held in December 2021. The U.S. invitations extended to him highlight Washington’s largely positive assessments of his government’s human rights and democracy records.
Armenian opposition leaders have accused the U.S. as well as the European Union of turning a blind eye to the Pashinian administration’s pressure on the judiciary, the existence of “political prisoners” and other human rights abuses in the South Caucasus country. In May last year, they lambasted the then U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, Lynne Tracy, for seemingly touting the outcome of Armenia’s 2021 general elections won by Pashinian’s party.
In an annual report released on Monday, Amnesty International accused the Armenian authorities of using “excessive force” against opposition protesters and “unduly” restricting the freedom of expression.
“Criminal prosecutions over the legitimate expression of criticism of the authorities had a chilling effect on free speech,” said the global watchdog.