YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. 2nd President Robert Kocharyan sees a possibility to deepen the defense cooperation between Armenia and Iran and considers it a necessity as a part of Armenia’s security component.

He said that in addition to Armenia, the only country for whom Syunik province is important is Iran. “Syunik is the weakest side of Armenia, it is the area which Turkey and Azerbaijan have great aspirations for, and that is obvious. Now there is a question: which country, apart from Armenia, for which Syunik is important, that is Iran. So, was it hard to guess that the country which can take practical steps, apart from statements and calls, is Iran only? Almost nothing has been done in this respect over the past two year. We should have done at least 2 military exercises with Iran in Syunik. There should have been some legal-contractual base with Iran, and this would have been the biggest factor restraining Azerbaijan”, he said during a press conference.

He reminded that during the 2020 Artsakh War Georgia closed its airspace and the transfer of ammunition from Russia to Armenia was difficult. The ex-President says that the picture is the same: Georgia is in its place, it is Armenia’s neighbor, but Armenia does not have a border with Russia, and the same problem will emerge. “Now when looking at the map, you see that the only land border which will allow to ensure that is Iran”, he said, proposing to engage Iran in the new architecture of Armenia’s security.

Kocharyan said it means that it is necessary to assess the situation and find solutions that neutralizes the existing problems.

According to him, when looking at the map, it is clear that Iran is the only country that could be a restraining factor for both Turkey and Azerbaijan.