Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presents American leaders with a defining moment of truth. Most federal lawmakers are, at minimum, seemingly saying the right thing when it comes to standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Yet today, members of Congress risk finding themselves on the wrong side of history. To start, they face an increasingly complex diplomatic landscape surrounding the Ukraine war, as the U.S. is exploring the possibility of easing oil sanctions on Venezuela in order to persuade Russia’s South American ally to distance itself from Putin. Meanwhile, as a new condition for reviving the Iran nuclear deal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently demanded a written guarantee from the U.S. that sanctions on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine will not affect Russia-Iran commerce.
When it comes to this interconnected web of sanctions against Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, American leaders must choose between assertion and capitulation. If the Biden administration’s apparent desperation to rejoin the Iran deal is any indication, Washington is more likely to capitulate.
At the same time, what flies largely under the radar in discussions on policy toward Russia is how Democratic members of Congress from New Jersey such as Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) find common ground on Armenia, another stalwart ally of Moscow.
Following the invasion of Ukraine, Armenia was the only nation (besides Russia itself) to vote against the Council of Europe’s decision to suspend Russia from the 47-member body. Meanwhile, Armenian separatists in the Karabakh region lauded Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine — Donetsk and Lugansk — as independent republics.
In doing so, Arayik Harutyunyan, leader of the separatists who remain in Karabakh after Armenia’s withdrawal from the territories that it had occupied in the region following its surrender in a 2020 war with Azerbaijan, compared the situation in Donetsk and Lugansk to Armenian leaders’ longtime pursuit of international recognition of Karabakh as an independent state despite the fact that four U.N. resolutions recognize of the area as part of Azerbaijan. Artsvik Minasyan, Armenia’s minister of economic development and investments, underscored Yerevan’s opportunistic stance on the Ukraine crisis by saying, “It is obvious that we need to take advantage of this situation to advance the issue of Karabakh recognition.”
These Armenian positions on the invasion of Ukraine should surprise no one who understands the deep and highly intertwined ties between Russia and Armenia, as the latter country is home to both the Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri and the Russian 3624th Airbase in Erebuni Airport near Yerevan.
But now, for staunch congressional supporters of Armenia like Menendez and Pallone, their tough talk on Putin will ring hollow as long as they continue to refuse to call out Yerevan for enabling Moscow’s aggression.
Regrettably, this pattern of doublespeak is one that Armenia’s advocates in Congress know all too well. For instance, Menendez, a congressional leader in strengthening sanctions against Iran, ignores Armenia’s historic role as a sanctions-buster that empowers Tehran.
If they wish to avoid losing credibility on the Ukraine crisis, it is time for the most vocal promoters of Armenian interests in Congress to take a look in the mirror and acknowledge Armenia’s role in the empowerment of Russia. Otherwise, this moment of truth will slip through their fingers.
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Paul Miller is a media and political consultant based in the Chicago area. His commentary has been published in USA Today, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Newsweek, and The Hill. Follow him on Twitter at @pauliespoint.
