Zeya is the third high-ranking U.S. State Department official to have traveled to Armenia in the last six weeks, a fact highlighting deepening ties between the two nations. Another senior official, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, visited the South Caucasus country last week.
James O’Brien, the assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, was in Yerevan a month ago to chair, together with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, a session of the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue. In a statement issued after the meeting, the joint task force said the two sides plan to “upgrade the status of our bilateral dialogue to a Strategic Partnership Commission.”
“Honored to meet with Prime Minister Pashinian [on Saturday] on deepening U.S.-Armenia Strategic Partnership & U.S. support of Armenia’s ongoing reform efforts,” Zeya wrote on X on Monday. “The U.S. values our collaboration to strengthen democratic institutions & an independent judiciary, fight corruption, and advance the rule of law.”
Armenia - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, June 11, 2024.
The increased U.S.-Armenian diplomatic contacts come amid Armenia’s deepening rift with Russia, its longtime ally. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern last week at the “strategic partnership” with Washington sought by Yerevan, saying it could only create additional security risks and economic problems for Armenia.
Earlier this month, the Armenian authorities also hosted a delegation of three U.S. senators and five congressmen. One of those lawmakers, Representative Joe Wilson, praised Pashinian’s government for seeking to “distance itself” from Russia and move closer to the West. He and other members of the delegation also hailed the government’s “democratic reforms.”
The U.S. and the European Union have supported Pashinian and his policies throughout his six-year rule. Armenian opposition leaders increasingly accuse the West of turning a blind eye to undemocratic practices and human rights abuses in Armenia for geopolitical reasons.
Zeya, who arrived in Armenia from neighboring Georgia, also met on Monday with a group of local, mostly Western-funded civic activists. One of them, Daniel Ioannisian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they discussed the Armenian government’s stated efforts to combat corruption and reform the judiciary and police.
“We presented a number of problems existing in Armenia,” Ioannisian said, referring to corruption.
“We also spoke about the very low efficiency of the judicial system and public attitudes towards the judicial system,” added the head of the Yerevan-based Union of Informed Citizens.