The presentation of the Armenian re-edited book “Opening the NATO’s door” by the American analyst and diplomat Ronald Asmus took place (photos)

In the preface of the first version of the book, which was published in Armenian back in 2008, the author told how the idea of NATO expansion was born and how this policy was implemented despite serious internal and external opposition. Asmus emphasized. “This is an example of how a minority opinion can become the mainstream thinking on an issue and ultimately win in a low-probability scenario”.

According to Ara Tadevosyan, the director of “Mediamax”, the idea of reprinting the book came because of its relevance in today's geopolitical situation. “At that time, I thought it would be right to republish the book “Opening the NATO’s door”, in which Ronald Asmus presents in detail not only the enlargement process but also how this process was discussed with Moscow”.

The authors of Newmag took part in the presentation: Suren Sargsyan, author of the book “Armenia and Bush Himself” and Samvel Farmanyan, author of the book “Alone Against Fate”. According to Suren Sargsyan, even then people saw what the prospect of NATO expansion could lead to, and it is still visible today what that ideology led to.

"Armenia was exceptional in that regard, the country was both a member of the CSTO and had an appropriate cooperation framework with NATO, which was quite active for a state that had no ambition to become a NATO member at all. If there is tension, that tension will directly affect us, whether we like it or not, and if these relations warm up, naturally a window of opportunity opens for us, if the state leadership can make a correct assessment, it will be able to find a useful solution”.

According to Samvel Farmanyan, it may seem to many that the dilemma of making a geopolitical choice, leaning towards any concrete center of power is typical only for our modern history, but it is not so.

“From the period of Ancient Rome, from Artavazd II to Serzh Sargsyan, there has always been the same problem Armenian leaders faced. Geopolitical realities, power centers, the tools used, and the nature of international relations are changing, a lot is changing, but geography remains the same. So, if Armenia is not forced to make a choice, then it is not our interest to make it. There are no examples in history when actors with less geopolitical influence, who are at the center of a clash between major powers, make such a choice and find themselves in a more advantageous position”.

Unfortunately, Ron Asmus will not see the second Armenian edition of his book. He died in 2011, he was 53 years old. Vigen Sargsyan, the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, translated the book. The work is presented on the market by the Newmag publishing house in the Newmag & Friends format.