Last time, we mentioned that we are one of the rare nations that have eternal enemies with whom we do not lessen the hostility, moreover, so to say, increase it. Reciprocally. More precisely, three-sided, because if, by the end of the last century, Turkey and the Turks was our main eternal enemy, Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis were added in the 80s of the last century. Currently, we consider both of them our enemies, and those of us who do not consider Azerbaijanis and Turks enemies can be considered a traitor. However, these two eternal enemies are also our close and eternal neighbors. By mischance.
Fortunately, we also have two other neighbors, whom we consider also friends: Georgia and Iran. I hope they also consider us as a friend, although people say that there are no eternal friends and eternal enemies. There are interests. Anyway, we did not have wars with these two centuries-old neighbors, except for the battle of Avarayr, which was mostly connected with religion and faith rather than politics. However and fortunately, the battle of Avarayr is fundamentally described particularly in the Armenian history textbooks, it’s true, but it has not become an eternal enmity between us and the Persians. Moreover, Iran today is the one the countries with which our political interests largely coincide.
The Georgians and Georgia are not our century-old neighbor and friend, it’s true, but our and Georgia’s political interests do not always coincide. We must display understanding even in the event when the interests of Georgia and the interests are our eternal enemies coincide. We have the issue of Karabakh, and Georgia – the issue of Abkhazia and Ossetia, and if Georgia at times acts in favor of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, we particularly should not be surprised. The same is true with Ukraine. Especially after the events in Crimea. Life and history are arranged in a way that they act in favor of territorial integrity, and we – in favor of self-determination. Their political interests demand one thing while ours – entirely different thing. And we should not be particularly furious and rave about, because when thinking we would understand that everything that is logical in the politics is also natural. We also have our own interests, and in our case too, the Georgians, Ukrainian, Moldovan and others should not be furious and rave, and if we show an understanding to our and others’ interests, there will be no hostility between others and us. There will be just controversies rather than hostility. And in case of the absence of hostility, all the problems are solvable.
If we are a member of the Eurasian Union and also are connected with Russia by the military partnership, it does not yet mean that we should be hostile to all opponents of Russia. Other states enrolled in the Eurasian Union have their own political interests and are guided by them. In this regard, we should take an example from them and should try taking peer positions and be peer to other members of the same Union. It is not always that we are successful, and it is natural that it should be so because the members of this Union are essentially different not only by their interests but also by their territories and the number of population, as well as by their economic potential.
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Because in the politics, there is also a matter of being strong and weak. The issue of being strong and weak was always available in the politics. To the point, it is not always that the strong wins in the politics while the weak – suffers. Sometimes, it also happens the opposite. For there is always a strong to the strong.
If the weak is lucky, and its interests coincide with the interests of the strong of the strong, it also wins. This is what happened in Kosovo.
And the reason for the interest of the strong ones that we witness double, triple and multiple standards in the politics. The civilized world recognizes Kosovo’s independence, but not the Karabakh’s. And there are as many examples as you like. While, the same civilized world by forming the Minsk and other Groups, is enduringly engaged in the Karabakh issue and no end in sight not only with regard to the Karabakh issue but also to the eternal enmity between Azeris and us. As well as, the eternal enmity between Turkey and us. If Obama or his successor ever utters the word “genocide”, will it be the end of the eternal enmity between the Turks and us. Or, new resources eternal enmity will arise, and an entirely new phase of eternal hostility will begin.
It’s hard to say.
Voskan YEREVANTSY