Armenia will not be involved in any action against the Islamic Republic of Iran - Pashinyan

The Republic of Armenia will not be involved in any action against the Islamic Republic of Iran. In other words, our natural interests are precisely the factor that makes us mutually sensitive to each other's state interests. Iran's stability is extremely important to us, Iran's development is extremely important to us, and Iran's security is extremely important to us, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

- Mr. Prime Minister, your government is believed to be pro-Western. Doesn't this policy contradict... Is there a concern that this process, pro-Westernism, will affect your relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran?

 - Our government has adopted and implements a balanced and balancing foreign policy, and this formulation does not imply or even excludes any policy of ''...ism'' in the foreign policy sphere. Therefore, the foreign policy of the Republic of Armenia is and should increasingly be based on our country's state interests. This is our general approach.

After the non-violent, velvet, popular revolution in Armenia in 2018, these assessments became more acute and frequent. But if we look back at the dynamics of relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2018, I do not think that the dynamics of relationship development in the last seven years are inferior to any previous seven-year periods. On the other hand, it must be noted that the Republic of Armenia has been a member state of the Council of Europe since 2000, which means Armenia has very strong ties with Europe. If saying "West" we mean Europe, Armenia is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Moreover, after the people's non-violent, velvet revolution of 2018, we have adopted a democratic reform agenda and have been actively cooperating with the European Union, the Council of Europe, and so on.

At the same time, we pay great attention to our regional policy, noting that each country in our region has its own vision of development, governance model, and political view ideology. We respect every people's and state's sovereign right to determine their own development path. This regional diversity also creates opportunities for us to be integrated not only with the West but also with the East.

But on the other hand, this regional diversity also creates opportunities for us to be integrated not only with the West, but also with the East. We do not want our relations with the East to diminish or weaken; we want these relations to deepen. We want our relations with the Islamic world to continue to deepen. In this regard, our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are very important, and we want our relations with the Islamic world to continue deepening, because as I said, this stems from our balanced and balancing foreign policy.

I can make such an ambitious assertation that our relations with others pose no threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and I hope and am sure that there is no threat to the Republic of Armenia in the relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran with other third parties. It is this understanding that creates natural conditions for the deepening of our relations.

 - This question arose in my mind, if any threat is made against the Islamic Republic of Iran by Western countries, what will be your actions in that case?

- It is necessary to clarify what you mean by saying threat, but we have said that the Republic of Armenia will not be involved in any action against the Islamic Republic of Iran. In other words, our natural interests are precisely the factor that makes us mutually sensitive to each other's state interests. Iran's stability is extremely important to us, Iran's development is extremely important to us, and Iran's security is extremely important to us, and I don't even think there is a need to say why, because it is so obvious.

I said that we are interested in more and more tourists from the Islamic Republic of Iran coming to the Republic of Armenia. I am giving the simplest example so that the audience can understand what I am saying, I am not going into more complex content. We want more tourists from the Islamic Republic of Iran to come. When will this happen? When there is good natural economic development, stability, and security in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I brought this example, which is just a very small part of what I said, although a very important part, I brought this example to show what our perception is of our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

But on the other hand, I also want to say that we must mutually see the opportunities. You spoke about unused opportunities, but we also need to highlight what those unused opportunities are. Specifically, in the North-South trade and economic direction, for example, the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have a much greater potential for cooperation, and we are now working on this. On the other hand, we can say that the Republic of Armenia is perhaps the shortest, the most reliable path for the Islamic Republic of Iran to the west and north, and we are having discussions on these topics with our Iranian partners, and these are issues that can be further expressed if there is trust between the two countries and their governments. And I am happy to note that in our interactions at the highest level, we record that there is trust between the governments of the two countries. Trust does not mean that we absolutely look at everything the same way or have the same interpretation of everything. No, trust means that we are mutually familiar with each other's train of thought regarding our relations and regional relations, and we have a certain understanding of that train of thought.

 - You recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the United States. Considering the bitter experience we have had with such countries, how hopeful are you that it will be implemented?

 - I already said that under the logic of balanced and balancing foreign policy, we are developing our relations with all our partners, and our relations with the United States are not new, and yes, we have signed a strategic partnership document, which was signed quite recently, and we must take that document as an agenda and try to implement it.

Moreover, it is very important to note that this is a public document, and I emphasize this to make our intentions transparent for our neighbors, partners, and our region. We hope that this agreement will be implemented and brought to life, and in the context of this cooperation, no threats will be formed or added for our region, but on the contrary, the opportunities that have always existed will be further highlighted. This is of course not easy, but as I said, it has never been easy and will never be easy, we simply need to find ways, paths, and will to create and use these opportunities.

The difficulty, the problem, is not Armenia, but the US, which is not fulfilling its commitments.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - In all our relations we are trying to take into account our regional interests as well, and we will continue to be guided by this approach.

 – What's your assessment of the relations between Europe and the USA after Trump coming to power?

 - Well, you know, the new administration was formed in the United States just a month ago, and the formation of a new administration and relations with the new administration are an adaptation phase for all countries. It is after this adaptation phase that these relations should be evaluated.