Armenia’s accession to Ashgabat Agreement will strengthen North-South route of "Crossroads of Peace" project - Iranian expert

Iranian expert on South Caucasus issues, international scholar Ehsan Movahedian considers Armenia's joining the agreement on the creation of an international transport and transit corridor between Iran, Oman, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (Ashgabat Pact ) to be an extremely accurate and strategic decision.

According to Movahedian, Armenia's joining the Ashgabat Pact is a precise and strategic decision to reduce the pressure of the Ankara-Baku axis.

He noted that in that way, Armenia can, with the cooperation of its true friend Iran, be freed from geopolitical siege and have safe, fast and cheap access to the markets of Arab countries and Central Asia, and even Russia.

Ehsan Movahedian, a lecturer at Allameh Tabataba’i University (ATU) in Tehran, expressed this opinion in an interview with Armenpress, referring to the Armenian government’s decision to join the agreement at its May 8 session. 

“Joining the Ashgabat Corridor Agreement will help create reliable conditions for the transport and transit of goods and passengers through the territories of the member states, facilitate multimodal transport, optimize transport costs, strengthen the transit role of Armenia, improve transport safety, and create equal conditions for the transport organizations of the member states,” the expert said.

According to him, Iran is the most important link in this chain.

“The corridor uses rail and road routes to connect to Turkey and the Persian Gulf, and through its southern ports such as Bandar Abbas and Chabahar, it provides the opportunity to connect the corridor to sea routes and the Arab countries bordering the Persian Gulf. Armenia's joining the Ashgabat Pact is a precise and strategic decision to reduce the pressure of the Ankara-Baku axis. In this way, Armenia can, with the cooperation of its true friend Iran, be freed from geopolitical siege and have safe, fast and cheap access to the markets of Arab countries and Central Asia, and even Russia. Using this route allows the transportation of goods in Asia via a shorter route than long sea routes,’’ he said.

According to him, joining the Ashgabat Agreement will ensure Armenia’s access to international markets through this transit corridor, the coordination of transit documents required for international transport, the facilitation of customs procedures, and the non-discriminatory use of the transport infrastructure of the member states.

“In addition, the Ashgabat Agreement provides Armenia with the opportunity to organize the implementation of logistical transportation by various methods between the countries-participants of this Agreement, contributing to the strengthening of mutually beneficial economic and trade relations, the expansion of cooperation, and the strengthening of Armenia's transit role,’’ Movahedian said.

In the context of this transit corridor, the Iranian expert also touched upon the "Crossroads of Peace" project initiated by the Armenian government to unblock transport communications in the South Caucasus.

“Joining the Ashgabat Pact will also strengthen the North-South route of Armenia’s peace crossroads. Armenia should define an important geopolitical position for itself so that maintaining the country’s security and territorial integrity is more important to other neighbors and major countries in the world,” he said.

According to him, the East-West route of the peace crossroads is currently unusable due to Baku’s sabotage and failure to sign a peace treaty with Armenia. 

“Given Baku’s unreasonable conditions for signing a peace treaty with Armenia (amending the Armenian constitution and dissolving the Minsk Group), it does not seem that the East-West route of the peace crossroads will be usable in the near future. Turkey and Baku insist on taking control of customs and security affairs of this route from within Armenia, violating Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Therefore, Armenia should rely on the North-South route of the peace crossroads, which connects to friendly countries. By doing this, Armenia can also strengthen its presence and cooperation with Arab countries,'' he said. 

“In this way, it is possible to counter Baku's anti-Armenian narrative in Arab countries and portray a peaceful and rational image of Armenia, as well as create more economic and trade opportunities for Armenia so that the country's economic growth and progress can be accelerated through joint cooperation between Iran, Armenia, and Arab countries,” the expert stated.

He noted that Armenia can use the capacity of Iranian ports such as Chabahar Port, Shahid Rajaee Port, Bandar Abbas, and other port for that purpose.

“Armenia should not be unaware of the capacity of the Arvand Free Zone in neighboring Iraq and Kuwait. This area, located in Khuzestan Province, has great potential for Armenia's commercial and economic activities, and in this way, Armenia can access the Arab countries neighboring Iran and even North Africa and create new economic and trade opportunities for itself,” concluded Movahedian.