IRAN LENDS A HELPING HAND TO ARMENIA
Vardan Grigoryan
Hayots Ashkharh Daily
20 July 07
The sitting of the Armenian -Iranian Intergovernmental Committee, which
is going to begin its work in Yerevan today, will turn a new leaf in
the history of the two countries’ economic relations by confirming the
establishment of a free trade regime between the neighboring countries.
It is noteworthy that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has recently
undertaken the direct leadership of the Intergovernmental Committee
dealing with the issues of cooperation with Armenia. So, Foreign
Minister Manoucher Motaki is arriving in Yerevan today with the
purpose of participating in its activities.
During the meeting of the two countries’ experts on July 17, a day
before the visit, Seid Mahsi Mirutabeli, Head of the Iranian Foreign
Ministry’s Chief Department of Economic Cooperation expressed hope
that it is possible to extend the bilateral circulation of goods to
1 billion US dollars due to the establishment of free economic regime
between the two countries.
Of course, extending economic cooperation with its immediate neighbors
at the current stage has not only economic but also political
significance for Iran, considering the risk of the United States
initiative to use punitive measures.
However, it is necessary to bear in mind that unlike our country,
Iran has various alternatives for appearing on the foreign market
due to the diversity of its communicative potentials. And Armenia,
in turn, cannot be viewed by the United States as an obstacle to the
punitive measures as long as the Armenian-Turkish is closed.
Moreover, possessing 15 per cent of the international gas reserves,
Iran is currently facing new and interesting prospects in terms of
choosing a route for appearing on the European market. On July 14,
negotiations were held in Ankara between Hilmi Gyuleri, the Energy
Minister of Turkey and Vaziri Hamaneh, the Oil Industry Minister of
Iran. This resulted in the signature of a preliminary agreement or a
memorandum of intentions on transferring the Iranian and Turkmenistani
gas to the EU member-states via the territory of Turkey. To that end,
Iran is ready to provide Turkey with around 30 cubic meters of gas. A
number of units in Pars, a mine situated in the South of the Persian
Gulf, can also be transferred to Turkish companies.
This marks the beginning of the attempts aimed at finding "southern
solutions" to "Nabuko" program, which seemed to be blockaded by Russia
and deprived of any prospect. And such situation has given rise to
concerns not only in Moscow but also in Washington.
Russia, our ally, which in time spared no effort to limit the
Iran-Armenia gas transfer capacity and thus reduced the program
purely to the local level, is now becoming faced with the fact of the
impossibility to blockade the Turkish route exporting the Iranian and –
in the long-range perspective – the Turkmenistani gas to Europe. And
the issue is whether in such conditions the construction of a second
transit gas pipeline is not advantageous to Armenia, as well as
Russia. After all, it is better for the Iranian gas to pass via the
territory Armenia, an ally country, rather than Turkey which is a
big consumer.
Besides, Iran, unlike Turkey, has no political problems with Armenia,
and for many years on end it has been trying to export its gas to
Europe via our country. Therefore, the Turkish-Iranian memorandum
of intentions signed recently creates conditions for revising the
issue of the construction of a new Armenian-Iranian gas pipeline. The
Armenian-Georgian route is becoming an alternative and at least –
an option of mutual concessions for both parties.
We believe the participation of the Iranian Foreign Minister in
the Armenian-Iranian Intergovernmental Committee’s sitting to be
held in Yerevan, is a proper occasion for revising the issue of the
construction of a second Iranian-Armenian gas pipeline, before the
Turkish-Iranian memorandum of intentions changes into a specific
agreement implying specific obligations.
The deepening of the Armenian-Iranian economic cooperation also demands
that we take specific steps from now on for the implementation of
the programs aimed at building the Armenian-Iranian railroad.