On February 24, the participants of the discussion organized by the Armenian Center for Democracy and Security titled “Ukrainian Crisis: How Should Armenia Position Itself?”, prioritized Armenia’s attempt to find alternative routes and diversify economic routes because there is a lot of transit traffic to Armenia via Kyiv, and Ukraine has already closed its air routes, which means that there will be issues with cargo transportation in the near future. One of the possibilities was discussed during the meeting of the Armenian and Turkish special envoys in Vienna. The speakers also considered it extremely dangerous for the CSTO to take part in hostilities against Ukraine, as it is not ruled out that a blow to Crimea could also be struck, in which case Russia’s similar demand to the CSTO will be well-founded.
According to former MP Arman Babajanyan, it is very important to make political unanimity and Armenia’s official position the only acceptable one at the moment, which will also be a message to the international community that Armenian political forces are united in internal threats, regardless of external orientations. In this context, the differences became more acute. According to him, if the results of the meeting of the Armenian and Turkish special envoys succeed in Vienna, the threats from Azerbaijan and Turkey can be significantly reduced. “As for Artsakh, I think it is unnecessary to talk about the viability of the Minsk Group. There is no such group anymore. We need to understand what new platforms can emerge in the medium term in the face of this confrontation between the West and Russia, because in the near future they can not be where the West, Russia and perhaps other regional actors participate. They will be able to bring lasting peace and a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the security issues facing Armenia,” he said, emphasizing the summit to be held in Kazakhstan today and Armenia’s position, as there is no final position of Armenia, which is the most concerning. He agrees with the other speakers, it is important for Armenia to maintain neutrality, as the war may involve new territories. In particular, there are already developments in the direction of China, in terms of Taiwan. According to him, we should be able to push Baku and Ankara to such a position that they do not take steps to take advantage of this new geopolitical haven.
Daniel Ioannisyan spoke about the economic risks, in particular, the fall of the ruble, which will lead to problems related to the consumption of goods exported from Armenia to Russia and the EEU, as well as to the income and remittances of Armenian labor migrants in Russia. In the context of Armenia’s security problems, he noted that in such situations the countries that are weak suffer, and it is no secret that Armenia is weak compared to its enemies, who have ambitions towards the Syunik region. And the misinformation provocations by the Azerbaijani side in recent days are worrying, especially since in its estimation the “ally” of Armenia, which should ensure the security of Armenia, including in Syunik region, has a good reason not to do so.
Read also
Nelly GRIGORYAN
