ARMENIA AND IRAN ARE FACING ISOLATION ISSUE
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
21.05.2009 13:48 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Armenian-Iranian relations should be viewed from
several viewpoints – common challenges, common interests, development
and perspectives of strategic relations between two neighboring
states," Director of Armenian Center for National and International
Studies (ACNIS), Richard Giragosian said during "Perspectives of
Armenian Iranian relations" discussion.
"Armenia and Iran are currently facing isolation issues; Armenia
is blockaded by two neighboring states: Turkey and Azerbaijan and
West is imposing economic sanctions on Iran. Besides, both Armenia
and Iran are in an unstable region, especially after 2008’s August
events in Georgia," the expert noted.
According to Richard Giragosian, not only the settlement of NKR
conflict and Turkey’s increased activity in the region but also
internal political issues are a challenge for Armenia. "Iran has also
faced a number of geopolitical issues, specifically its exclusion from
Turkey-suggested stability and collaboration platform in Caucasus,"
he emphasized. The expert stressed the necessity of Yerevan and
Tehran’s participation in regional projects.
"To develop Armenian – Iranian relations, 4 aspects should be
noted. First, development of transportation and communication
between the countries. Armenia -Iran railway construction program is
a promising project not only for the two countries. It’s a specific
corridor, connecting the North and the South," the expert noted. "The
second aspect is collaboration in the sphere of energetic. Everyone
understands that Nabucco implementation would hardly be possible
without Iranian gas."
Speaking of the third aspect, ACNIS Director emphasized the necessity
of increasing investment and product turnover volumes between Armenia
and Iran. "Product Turnover volumes between our countries comprised
only $ 227 million. Armenian Government has to undertake certain
steps to improve the situation," he said adding that development of
political dialogue between Yerevan and Tehran is one of the primary
aspects of the development of bilateral strategic relations.