Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 9, 2005, Wednesday
DESPITE WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kurier, No 8, March 2 – 15, 2005, p. 3
by Samvel Martirosjan
ARMENIA MAY COME TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENTAL ROLE IN MOSCOW’S PLANS OF
PREVENTING AMERICAN STRIKES AT IRAN
Official Yerevan is advancing its contacts with Tehran. Construction
of a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia began not long ago. Energy
dialogue between the two countries is at twice its former
intensiveness. Powers-that-be are already discussing construction of
a railroad between the two countries. It will become an element of
the North-South transport corridor whose project is actively promoted
by Moscow.
In other words, Yerevan and Tehran are doing what they can to benefit
from their closeness to each other. It would have been hardly
surprising but for a single nuance: all of that is happening against
the background of the quarrel between Iran and the United States
whose intensiveness is mounting too. In the meantime, Yerevan
presents itself as one of Washington’s leading partners in the
Caucasus.
In the meantime, Serzh Sarkisjan, Defense Minister of Armenia and
Secretary of the Presidential Security Council, visited Tehran on
February 7-9 within the framework of bilateral rapprochement. He met
with the president of Iran, foreign and defense ministers, and other
senior officials. Regional security was in the focus of all
negotiations. Sarkisjan suggested to Hasan Rouhani, Secretary of the
Supreme Council of National Security, to arrange regional
negotiations on the level of secretaries of Security Councils and
contemplate cooperation in the sphere of security. Sarkisjan is
convinced that the new facts of life make a security framework like
that a must. Rouhani in his turn is convinced that all regional
security projects must be discussed by all countries of the region.
President Mohamad Hatami assured Sarkisjan that his country intends
to advance and broaden bilateral contacts with Armenia.
Tehran’s position is understandable. American troops have all but
surrounded Iran on all sides. The United States has military bases in
Turkey; it has occupied Iraq and has troops in Afghanistan as well.
All of that cannot help but worry Iran. More and more frequent leaks
to the media indicate that Washington intends to move its troops to
Azerbaijan as well. There is also the possibility that the Americans
will use Azerbaijani airports for air raids against Iran. The
situation being what it is, Armenia remains the only place from which
Tehran does not expect a stab in the back.
Yerevan too is worried by the possibility of an American attack on
Iran. Right upon his return from Tehran Sarkisjan was quoted as
saying to a correspondent of Yerkir newspaper that “We hope that
there will be no hostilities and that new areas of tension will not
appear in the region across our borders. Any tension and particularly
hostilities may play the role of a detonator. We hope that the
American-Iranian relations will improve, all problems settled
peacefully.”
This negative attitude towards potential deterioration is shared by
Kiro Manojan, head of the Political Department of Armenian
Revolutionary Movement Dashnaktsutyun, one of the largest political
structures in the republic and an element of the ruling coalition.
“Dashnaktsutyun regards the Armenian-Iranian relations and
territorial integrity of Iran as very important,” he said in an
on-line interview with Caucasus journalistic Network website. “From
this point of view, potential attacks of America or other countries
against Iran worry us greatly. In this, our party shares the
positions of some United States’ allies in Europe.”
As soon as Sarkisjan left, Rouhani visited Russia. It stands to
reason to expect Armenia to come to play an instrumental role in
Moscow’s plans of prevention of escalation of tension in the Middle
East and American strikes against Iran.