Epress.am News from Armenia
The Iranian nuclear deal could open the door for Armenia to solve its numerous foreign policy issues, which have a significant role in Armenia's current stagnation, political analyst Saro Saroyan said in an interview with Epress.am, talking about last week's agreement on the Iranian nuclear program between Iran and the P5+1 — United States, Russia, China, France, United Kingdom and Germany. In particular, Iran has agreed to halt its uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
According to Saroyan, if Armenia were involved in the negotiation processes between the West and Iran, the country would not be alone in solving its foreign policy issues, and would receive the help of the Western superpowers. In order to engage Armenia in these processes, the West should help the country to regain its sovereignty and get rid of Russia's big influence.
“The second option is for the West to reach an agreement on issues related to Armenia directly with Russia, given that Armenia has yielded its transport and economic security to Russia. Which one of these options is most probable or preferable for each of the parties is another matter, of which it is too early to speak. Hopefully, Armenia will get involved in these processes, and receive the assistance to shed the influence of Russia,” the analyst said.
What benefits will Armenia get as a transit country, if Iran is given the opportunity to start a gas supply to European countries? This question, as stated by Saroyan, is also in the domain of geopolitical interests.
“The public perception that it's a matter of bilateral negotiations between Armenia and Iran is wrong. The decision regarding the route of the pipeline is in the context of geopolitical interests and must be solved on the scale of talks between the West and Iran,” Saroyan concluded.