US Ambassador to Armenia Mills Outlines Priorities in Boston

The second priority of the embassy was to counter corruption. He said that it takes a very big toll on Armenia domestically, and has a “chilling effect” on foreign investment. He said it undermines democracy and the rule of law, causing cynicism and mistrust. He declared that it could also threaten national security by giving a way for outside powers to influence the country, and it hastens emigration, including of the most talented and productive elements of the population. Pressure from the US and others led, Mills continued, to the Armenian government’s creation of the Anti-Corruption Council.

One specific example of US help is in the field of automating pension and social benefits systems, which the World Bank and USAID supported. This allowed the government to update its pension recipient list and eliminate thousands of names of people long dead but still receiving pensions. The savings allowed raising pension benefits two years in a row.

The third priority of the embassy is to strengthen human rights and civil society. Mills said that there is a vibrant civil society in Armenia, but a lot of progress is necessary.

The fourth priority is to better communicate US foreign policy goals. Mills said that many Armenians do not seem to understand these goals, and what the US is doing in places like Syria and Ukraine, because of the dominance of Russian media in Armenia. Instead, Mills and his colleagues seek venues where they can explain the official US line on various issues.

Mills encouraged the diaspora to play a bigger role in Armenia. He encouraged audience members to contact the embassy if they wanted to help, and stressed that what the Armenian community abroad thinks about issues like corruption has a great impact in Armenia. For example, Mills said, the prime minister of Armenia gets a summary of the international Armenian media.

After his formal talk, Mills showed some slides of the work of the embassy and made some “informal” comments. He pointed out that the Armenian Church was a big partner of the US, especially in the human rights field. The US also had a strong relationship with the Armenian military, and helping reforms and peacekeeping functions. He showed pictures of “American corners” in Armenia – spaces in schools and elsewhere with information on the US. Among other tools, the embassy is using a book on Clara Barton.

One slide depicted a mural restored in Gumri through American funds. Another showed the opening of a farm extension center based on the model of similar centers in the US. Small farmers who cannot afford sophisticated equipment can rent it for a few hours or get expert advice.

One interesting program Mills mentioned was an attempt to increase tourism in the countryside, which would improve the economy there and hopefully prevent emigration.

Mills also took questions from the audience. Three questions dealt with the Armenian Genocide, and were critical of the US State Department’s failure to formally acknowledge it and use the generally accepted terminology. The first questioner asserted that the US was afraid to stand up to Turkey, which supports ISIS. Mills defended the Turkish government as part of the anti ISIS coalition, and declared there was no proof of ISIS selling oil to the Turkish government, but added that the US criticizes Turkey publically like when intellectuals criticizing the Turkish government on the Kurdish situation were arrested.

In answering two later questions, Mills referred listeners to President Barack Obama’s April statement, and carefully avoided using the word genocide in connection with the Armenians.

Other questions dealt with Karabagh, the budget of the US embassy, State Department sponsorship of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation efforts, the effects improved US-Iranian relations will have on Armenia, and American support for resettlement of Syrian refugees in Armenia.