Expert questions Trump`s decision to meet privately with Aliyev but not Pashinyan in Davos
ArmInfo. Suren Sargsyan, expert on American studies, has pointed out the diplomatic disparity at the World Economic Forum in Davos, noting that U.S. President Donald Trump held a private meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev while bypassing Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
In his Facebook post, the expert noted while Prime Minister Pashinyan participated in the signing ceremony for the Board of Peace for Gaza Charter-sitting near Trump and participating in group photos-these moments were largely ceremonial (as per protocol, in alphabetical order, with the host in the middle.). Sargsyan argued that while these photos are useful for "domestic PR" to mask the absence of high-level engagement, they do not substitute for a formal bilateral meeting.
"I still don't understand why Trump didn't have a private meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister, while he did meet with the Azerbaijani President. The US usually always tries to maintain balance. Moreover, Trump and Aliyev discussed the TRIPP initiative (which is supposed to pass through southern Armenia - ed.). Incidentally, Trump only had two one-one-one meetings in Davos: with Aliyev and Zelenskyy (not counting the NATO Secretary General)," he noted.