The war of corridors, the situation created in Armenia and Artsakh, was given a similar assessment by the participants of the recently held “Syunik in the context of historical, strategic significance, economic cooperation and investment perspective” conference.
The Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the head of the Kapan Community, members of the Iranian parliament, and about two dozen Iranian and Armenian professors and scientists participated in the conference.
The “Zangezur Corridor” formulation by the Azerbaijan-Turkey tandem is not to have a connection with Nakhichevan, but it has a different purpose. Gevorg Stepanyan, Professor of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, expressed a similar opinion.
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“The ongoing processes show that after annexing the territory of Artsakh, Azerbaijan will prepare the ground for the occupation of Syunik. The goal is certainly not only to seize Syunik and establish a land connection with Nakhijevan with the pan-Turkish plan but also to make Artsakh-Syunik-Nakhijevan a military platform for aggressive operations against Iran,” said Gevorg Stepanyan.
Suppose such a policy is conducted that violates the Iran-Armenia border. In that case, we will oppose it, Varamin Morteza Abedi, Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kapan, mentioned in a press conference, reminding us that this is also the official Iranian point of view. “Such unstable situations are harmful to peace in the region. We are convinced that the maps of the region’s countries should not undergo any changes, and we will not allow it. This international conference was realized due to the mutual concerns of the Kapan Community and the Iranian side.
The importance of Syunik for both Armenia and Iran was taken into account,” the consul specifically mentioned. According to the latter, Iran seeks to support economic integrations, but some forces, regional superpowers, are trying to provoke tension, seeking to divide the world into poles with their vision of a cold war.
Varamin Morteza Abedi states this is a retrogressive approach and harms people’s safe life. “The way to the Black Sea opens for Iran through this region. Many trucks pass through here every day. The President of Iran and the Prime Minister of Armenia have signed a cooperation agreement, and at the moment, the trade turnover is 700 million dollars, and we are striving to increase it to 3 billion. If the region is not considered safe, then all this will not be possible,” said the consul.
Gevorg Parsyan, head of Kapan Community, considers any program of Azerbaijan related to Syunik to be absurd. “We are facing several challenges and unanswered questions. Azerbaijan’s territorial ambitions towards Syunik are unacceptable from the beginning.
The opening of the Zangezur Corridor, which never existed at the expense of our country’s sovereignty, is unacceptable. Azerbaijan’s fanciful plans to make demographic changes in Syunik are unacceptable. It is nice to note that our powerful friend, the Islamic Republic of Iran, agrees with the Armenian people,” said Gevorg Parsyan.
In the 8-hour-long conference, historical facts and vision of the future regarding the friendship, economic, and cultural ties of the two countries were discussed. The course of further Armenian-Iranian cooperation in Syunik was discussed as a counterweight to the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem, as well as the role of Syunik in strengthening the Iran-Armenia Corridor.
Armen DAVTYAN
