The website “Publish” reports that the “Honar” theater has announced the visit of David Cohen, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, to Armenia. On May 21, it was revealed that Cohen and Pashinyan discussed various issues regarding the bilateral relations between Armenia and the United States, as well as international security concerns. Cohen also had a meeting with Armenian Defense Minister Arman Grigoryan.

Local sources have reported that the purpose of Cohen’s visit was to reaffirm American support for the ongoing reforms in Armenia, especially in the backdrop of anti-government demonstrations. It was an attempt to demonstrate that external support for regime change, specifically from the US, is not currently present.

Usually, high-level visits by officials from other countries are not extensively covered unless there is a political motive behind them. However, in this case, an official statement and even a photo were distributed, which indicates the significance of the visit.

A day before Cohen’s visit, on May 20, the Prosperous Armenia party held a closed session where the leadership reminded its members to exercise caution in their actions and avoid escalating tensions. However, disregarding this caution, members of the party started gathering and moving ahead of each other in a disorderly manner during the procession, with Bagrat Sargsyan, the party’s leader, taking the lead.