Armenia and God’s Will
“The LORD will keep you from all harm
—he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and
going both now and forevermore,” – Psalm 121
Shant Armen – OCP News Service– 25/10/2025
What happened in Washington on August 8 of this year may have a historical and crucial impact on Armenia. Since the 2020 Second Artsakh War, Armenia has been under constant threat from Azerbaijan. In 2021, Azerbaijan took over some near-border strategic territories the size of the city of Yerevan. Most tragically in 2023, Artsakh was ethnically cleansed of its Armenian population, where Armenians have been living for at least the past 3,000 years. All of this happened because Armenia’s so-called ally, Russia, let Armenia down. Russia is a deeply corrupt country, and what happened is that Azeris, over the years, put billions of dollars into buying Russian officials. There is a saying in Russia, now used by nationally oriented Russian experts and circles who are not happy with Russia’s policies in the South Caucasus: “All the rugs in the Russian foreign ministry are gifts from Azerbaijan.” The other reason is that Russia is so weakened that needs Turkey in order to avoid sanctions. For instance, when it comes to diesel supplies alone, in 2024 Turkey bought 42 percent of its needs from Russia with big discounts.
In September of 2022, Azerbaijan attacked Armenia itself, specifically the Jermouk region, which, if this attack were successful, would cut Armenia in half, resulting in a de facto loss of Armenia’s reliability as a functioning state. Again, Russia did not intervene, making various excuses. There is a security agreement between Armenia and Russia from 1998, and Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) led by Russia, where, like NATO, any attack on a member country should trigger military assistance from other members. There is also a Russian base in Armenia. However, here is the important moment: something happened on the third day of Azeri aggression on Jermuk, when only 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) remained before the city’s fall. Suddenly, a ceasefire took place, which has been in effect until today. It was indicated by high Armenian officials and prominent experts that this ceasefire was a result of US interference and pressure on Azerbaijan, some even said an ultimatum. This was a turning point and a historic moment. This was a first indication, although not very clear at the time, that the US wouldn’t allow the occupation of Armenia. This ceasefire was followed by a historical, unplanned, and urgent visit by the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time, Nancy Pelosi, and a congressional delegation to Armenia.
Coming to the current administration, there were some concerns, primarily because the US did not do much to stop the war in 2020. Aliyev looked happy with Trump’s second election, saying that Azerbaijan will be better off with Republicans than Democrats. Azerbaijan even tried to use its ally Israel in order to gain US support. However, something changed. In addition to our lobbying traditional organizations, different people and groups started working with Trump and his team. One of them, Rev. Joel Tenney, visited our church at my invitation in 2023. Most of these people and groups are Evangelical non-Armenian Christians who understood the severity of Armenia’s situation and wanted to help the First Christian Nation. Some Armenians were instrumental in this, like Tufenkjian in New York. One of these groups is called “Save Armenia,” which, according to one of its members Dr. Alveda King (Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s niece) put a letter in front of Trump about Armenia. Trump responded positively. That led to Trump signing documents with Pashinyan and Aliyev on August 8 in the White House. Officially, the documents are about a future peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. They are also about the route that will connect Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan. But in reality, this is about stopping Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia. I do not believe in one word or signature by Azerbaijan, but I know that as long as the US is involved, no one will dare to attack Armenia.
Many experts were talking about the possibility of war this past spring or fall, where Azerbaijan would occupy a big portion of the southern Armenian region of Syunik, with the excuse that it needed the route to Nakhichevan, and Armenia is blocking it. Now, according to the Washington agreements, that route will be controlled by an American company, where Armenia’s consent is needed for any decisions. This is a much better outcome for Armenia. By Armenia’s suggestion, the route will be called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, the acronym for which is TRIPP. It is apparent that politics is also involved. Armenia’s appeal allowed the US to enter the Caucasus. Our alliance with Russia did not work, and I will be happier to see Armenia become an ally of the US and the West in general. Wherever there is support from the local population, the US has shown that it is a trustworthy ally. There are many examples: Western Europe and Japan after WW2, South Korea, Taiwan, Kuwait, etc. We must take into consideration that the US built one of its largest embassies in the world in Armenia. I believe that being an ally to the US and the West will bring security and prosperity to Armenia, and we Armenian-Americans should be proud of that and support it.
I also believe that the Democrats, if they come to power in the future, will continue the same policy as the Republicans, since Democrats have also shown that they care about Armenia. Having said that, we must know how to work with both sides, and it seems that we are doing. The goal is to make US policies toward Armenia permanent and solid, no matter who is in power in Washington. There are many indications that we can achieve this goal.
As far as Artsakh is concerned, it is true that the West and the US did not do much in 2023 when Artskah was cleansed of its Armenian population. Sadly, the reason is that Artsakh Armenians and officials are one-sidedly Russian-oriented. They held rallies with Putin’s picture and the Russian flag. The president of Artsakh, Arayik Haroutyounian, refused to meet with the US and France envoys after the war in 2020, since there was no Russian representative with them. In addition, Haroutyounian called to give the Russian forces in Artsakh an international status, when there was a suggestion from the West to put in international peacekeeping forces, including Russians. Despite all this, Russia did not help.
For me, in conclusion, here is the most important part. Many non-Armenian scholars questioned how our nation survived despite the enormous challenges that it faced. Usually, we Armenians complain about losing our lands – after all, current day Armenia is only 10 percent of the territory of historic Armenia. However, non-Armenians emphasize more that it is a miracle that we still exist, that another nation with the same hardship we went through would have already disappeared. Usually, we refer to our spirit and heroism, and also to our culture, as the reason for our existence. This is all true. However, there is another metaphysical reality that goes far beyond our imagination: God’s will. God wants us to be here as a nation. God interferes in history, and we often cannot know when or how, but we know that God works through His people. God won’t let His people down, although we have had many falls. Morale in Armenia now is not in good shape. There is a division, loss of integrity, and a deep crisis in the Church. However, after the last five years of turmoil, we know now that, at least for some years, we have secured Armenia’s borders. We have to make this security permanent, as I previously pointed out. The fact that there is a strong Christian presence in the current administration and that Christians had a big role in convincing the US to get involved is proof of God’s presence in this deal. It’s better to rely on God than on people. Politics comes and goes, but God won’t. The priority should always be our commitment to God and to the task of being the First Christian Nation. There is still a long way to go. This is not yet a treaty, but a pre-signed agreement. Nevertheless, it is a good start. We also need a strong army. Others won’t help us if we do not help ourselves first. This is not about Prime Minister Pashinyan, it is about Armenia. Governments come and go, but our nation and motherland will be there until the end of time. That is God’s will. That is how I take what happened in Washington on August 8.
May God bless the USA.
May God bless Armenia.
