Pashinyan says Armenia will not be ‘involved in any action against’ Iran

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that Armenia ‘will not be involved in any action against’ Iran, in response to a question regarding Armenia’s deepening relations with the West.

Armenia has good relations with Iran, which is one of the two out of four neighbours that Armenia shares an open border. Armenia’s government programme for 2021–2026, describes the bilateral relations as ‘special’ seeking to ‘to further develop’ it. In October 2022, Iran’s Consulate General was established in Kapan, Syunik.

The interview was posted on the prime minister’s official website on Tuesday, in which Pashinyan highlighted that despite developing bilateral relations ‘at the political dialogue level and the economic cooperation level’, there were also ‘problems and obstacles that, if they did not exist, these relations might be even larger, particularly in the trade and economic sphere’.

According to his assessment, ‘there is a will’ in both governments ‘to keep the development of relations based on natural interests on a natural trajectory’.

Talking about the cooperation with Iran, Pashinyan noted that Iranian companies ‘are quite widely represented’ in Armenia. Those were ‘involved’ in the construction of a new customs checkpoint between the two countries, and an Iranian company was ‘successfully implementing the Agarak–Kajaran [in the Syunik] section of the north-south road’.

‘Negative factors’

Talking about the foreign policy of Armenia, Pashinyan said that Armenia was ‘sensitive towards the interests’ of Iran, and the same applied vice-versa.

As for the ‘negative factors’ in Armenia’s relations with Iran, Pashinyan mentioned ‘the complex relationships between Iran and several Western countries with which we also have good relations’.

‘We try to take into account those sensitive interests of […] Iran and not to create confrontations in our processes, including for the reason that developing relations with Iran serves our natural interests’.

Asked if his government’s pro-Western policy would affect Armenia’s relations with Iran, Pashinyan reiterated that his government had adopted ‘a balanced and balancing foreign policy’ and that was and ‘should increasingly be based on our country's state interests’.

To further support his point, Pashinyan made ‘an ambitious assertion’, saying that Armenia’s relations with others ‘pose no threat to’ Iran, ‘and I hope and am sure that there is no threat to the [Armenia] in the relations of the [Iran] with other third parties’.

Asked what would be Armenia’s actions if ‘any threat is made against’ Iran by Western countries, Pashinyan responded pointing at the necessity ‘to clarify what you mean by saying threat’.

‘But we have said that [Armenia] will not be involved in any action against [Iran]. […] Iran’s stability is extremely important to us, Iran’s development is extremely important to us, and Iran’s security is extremely important to us, and I don't even think there is a need to say why, because it is so obvious’.

Pashinyan was also asked about the Strategic Partnership agreement signed with the US previous administration in January. It stressed a mutual desire to strengthen relations across the diplomatic, economic, energy, high-tech, educational, scientific, cultural, legal, defence, and security fields.

Pashinyan pointed out that the document being public, ‘I emphasise this to make our intentions transparent for our neighbours, partners, and our region’.

‘We hope that this agreement will be implemented and brought to life, and in the context of this cooperation, no threats will be formed or added for our region, but on the contrary, the opportunities that have always existed will be further highlighted’.

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OC MediaArshaluys Barseghyan