Aravot Daily interviewed Nelly Baghdasaryan, Advisor to the President of Artsakh on International Relations.
– Moscow proposed the 3 + 3 format as a regional security mechanism. Turkey offered to form a new platform for resolving the Artsakh issue. Georgia has undertaken a mediation mission, and at the same time, the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan grow tense day by day. The position of official Yerevan in these processes is quite imperceptible in terms of a clear position. What can the formation of such a new platform lead to? Will it not overshadow the format of the OSCE Minsk Group?
– As long as the issue is under discussion, I will reserve the right to make an expert assessment. “3 + 3” was raised by Russia, which has regional authority and leverage and is a geopolitical superpower. Immediately after the 44-day war in 2020 in December, Turkey spoke of the “Six Platforms” as a mechanism for the development of the region. Naturally, if we try to discuss the issue from the point of view of our conflict settlement, this may create problems for the co-chairing of the OSCE Minsk Group, a body with a mandate for the settlement of the conflict.
The place of the Artsakh Republic in the “3 + 3” format is in the same field as the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation. I consider it necessary to emphasize that in the Artsakh Republic, Iran is also seen as a natural ally, taking into account a number of circumstances: the border with Iran before the 3rd Azerbaijani-Artsakh war, as well as Artsakh-Iran relations.
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Of course, all the steps aimed at resolving the conflict realities of the greater region- West Asia- should be positively assessed. At the moment, the “3 + 3” format is at the level of direct political discourse, as the name “region” with its classical, academic, and practical description means intercultural, inter-economic, and inter-political ties between the states. Our region does not even have distant edges with the classical academic perceptions of the region. Therefore, I think it will remain in the political discourse for the time being. In addition to the above, I would like to add that one of the formats of Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey cooperation already established in the region has common economic, military-technical, and transit interests. The Armenia-Russia-Iran format can be a strong platform for a second cooperation. As the recent Azerbaijan-Iran realities have shown, the pan-Armenian environment noted a high level of opinions stating that Iran is our natural ally. It is very important that the United States has recently outlined some changes in the Iranian political course.
Of course, Russia’s proposal in the “3 + 3” format is in Russia’s regional and geopolitical interests because in this case it can be equally represented, de jure and de facto, and can have leverage over both sides. Blocks are effective if they have counterbalance and restraint mechanisms. Of course, it should be emphasized that Georgia, being in partnership and neighborly relations with Armenia, has fundamental contradictions with Russia. In general, the steps aimed at resolving the conflicts, stability, and development of our problematic region at all times can be positively assessed if they are in our national interests.
Interview by Nelly Grigoryan
