While the West has recently tightened its sanctions against Iran, itsonly Christian neighbor has taken a different approach towards theIslamic Republic. Political constraints and lack of options havecoerced landlocked Armenia to adopt a policy dissimilar to the Westsfor one basic reason survival.Armenia is located in the South Caucasus - one of the most volatileregions in the world, where East meets West and North meets South. Itlies at the crossroads of Islam and Christianity. This is where NATOand the USSR once drew their boundary, but where war and history havemaintained closed borders even after the collapse of the Soviet Unionin 1991. This is also where expansive oil and gas pipelines traverse,supplying Europe with energy resources from the hydrocarbon-richCaspian Sea.
Of all the countries in the region, geography and history have beenthe cruelest to Armenia. The country is blockaded by two of its fourneighbors Turkey to the West and Azerbaijan to the East andSouthwest accounting for some eighty percent of the countrysboundaries. Its border with an often unstable Georgia remains open tothe North as well as a tiny 22-mile Southern border with Iran termedas a lifeline for the culturally-rich yet resource-poor country of 3million.
Despite a current cease-fire, Armenia is technically still at war withAzerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where a de-factoindependent republic was proclaimed in 1992 after Armenian forcesestablished control over the territory and several districtssurrounding it. As a result, Turkey also severed ties with Armenia andclosed its border in solidarity with its ethnic kin, the Azerbaijanis.Armenias relations with Turkey also remain tense over the 1915Armenian Genocide, when nearly the entire Armenian population of theOttoman Empire, two million people, was wiped out through massacresand deportations. Turkey still denies the Genocide despite historicalevidence and international pressure to acknowledge the crimes
committed by its predecessors.
Given Irans historic rivalry with Turkey and Russia for influence inthe Caucasus, its strained relations with Azerbaijan over thatcountrys rejection of an Islamic order, and its internationalisolation, Iran has recently enhanced its economic, political andcultural relations with Armenia. Additionally, northern Iran isinhabited by over 15 million Azeris (double the population of theRepublic of Azerbaijan), driving Irans concern of a potentialsecessionist movement. Wary of this threat, a weak Azerbaijan is inIrans best interest and Armenia becomes an important leverage pointin this regard. Hence, we observe an unusual international relationspredicament in which the interests of an Islamic republic coincidewith those of a Christian state at the expense of another Muslimcountry. In response, leaders of both Iran and Armenia are quick topoint out the historic relations between the two countries that spanseveral thousand years, as well as the presence of a substantialArmenian community in Iran numbering 150,000. Two seats in the IranianParliament are appointed for Armenian representation and northernIran, once a part of several Armenian kingdoms, is also home toancient Armenian monasteries designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sitesthat enjoy national and international protection in stark contrastto some three thousand Armenian churches in Turkey that fell victim tocultural destruction during and after 1915.
Ultimately, for Armenia, embracing Iran becomes a matter of basicsurvival, and for Iran, tiny Armenia becomes an outlet for globalreconnection and a means to put pressure on Azerbaijan. Meanwhile,Armenia has made it clear that this relationship does not come at theexpense of its relations with the West or Russia. Russia remainsArmenias strategic ally and Armenia has very warm and developingrelations with the United States and the EU. Large and influentialArmenian Diaspora communities, particularly in the United States andFrance, become an important bridge between their ancestral and adoptedhomelands and act as catalysts for Westernization. Over the years,Armenia has espoused a policy of European orientation and integration
and hopes to become an EU member in time. As a means of engagingregional and global powers without having to pick and choosealliances, Armenia has carefully crafted a policy of complementarityto survive and navigate difficult geopolitical terrain.
Last year marked the apex of Iranian-Armenian relations when the twocountries embarked on important economic projects, including theconstruction of a hydro-electric plant on their shared border awelcome development for energy-hungry Armenia. There are talks now ofconstructing an ambitious railway system and an oil pipeline betweenthe two countries. Both projects could eventually be extended toEurope through Georgia, which will help alleviate Armenias isolationin the region. American tolerance of these growing ties still remainsto be seen. Thus far, the United States has been cautious but largelyunderstanding; however this could change in the future.
In order to keep Iranian-Armenian relations in check and to assistArmenia in expanding its options in the region, the Obamaadministration must put pressure on Turkey to open its border withArmenia immediately and without preconditions. This would ensureArmenias access to Europe and beyond through Turkish territory. TheUnited States should also enhance its efforts in bringing forth asolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully and resolutely.Furthermore, the United States should assist Armenian integration inregional economic and transportation projects and to energizeU.S.-Armenia economic relations via a bilateral Trade and InvestmentFramework Agreement. The United States will thus help Armenia reduceits dependence on Iran by ensuring the countrys integration with theWest. Armenia and its people want no less and need American andEuropean assistance to achieve this objective. Otherwise, Armenia willhave no choice but to continue looking to Iran.
ByTimes.am
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