Interviews and press conferences
The Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan gave an interview to the Iranian "Tasnim" news agency
14 / 10 / 2021
Below is the full transcript of the interview.
Tasnim - Thank you for the opportunity. During the interview, I suggest referring to the developments in the South Caucasus and our bilateral relations. Let's start with the Armenian-Iranian relations because it is more interesting, especially after the formation of the government headed by Mr Pashinyan in 2018, the relations between our two countries are developing in the political, economic, and cultural spheres. This development is against rumours, whispers, and false information as if the new government formed in Armenia is pro-Western and during the administration of the government, the relations between Iran and Armenia will be strained. In this context, I would like to ask whether the government formed after the elections intend to continue the results of the Armenian-Iranian cooperation and continue the current programs of the pre-2020 elections.
A. Grigoryan - Thank you for the invitation to interview. As for the questions, first of all, I would like to mention that we have been accused of having some kind of external orientation. But we have repeatedly stated that we are a pro-Armenian force, we pursue the interests of the Republic of Armenia, and we serve those interests. In this context, I would like to note that it is in the interests of the Republic of Armenia to have close, positive, and good-neighbourly relations with neighbouring Iran. That is why, since 2018, we have been developing our relations with Iran in economic, security, cultural, and many other areas. Taking into account all these circumstances, right after the June 20, 2020 elections, Prime Minister Pashinyan announced the launch of a strategic dialogue with Iran. This statement also confirms the dynamics of the development of Armenia-Iran relations. The announcement was based on the logic of high-level meetings between the two countries. In other words, the last two meetings between Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Raisi confirmed the nature of our relations. In August, Pashinyan met with President Raisi in Tehran, and then the second meeting took place in Dushanbe; two meetings in a short period. The dynamics of the development of Armenia-Iran relations show that all these statements do not correspond to reality.
Tasnim - What are the goals and plans of the Armenian authorities in terms of economic and political relations?
A. Grigoryan - From an economic point of view, energy cooperation is one of the priority areas. Iran and Armenia are cooperating intensively in this sphere. In Yerevan, we are waiting for the Iranian energy officials to discuss more intensively not only the construction of a hydropower plant on the Araks River, on the Armenian-Iranian border but also the possibility of other infrastructure projects. As I mentioned, the agenda of the two recent meetings between Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Raisi was also in the field of the economy. During the meetings, the parties discussed setting up working groups to work even more intensively to develop and bring closer economic relations.
Tasnim - About two weeks have passed since the war’s first anniversary, which has shaken the entire region. After that war, various crises and problems arose. One of the problems caused by this crisis is the signing of a statement by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on the establishment of a ceasefire, which was signed between three parties - Putin, Pashinyan, and Aliyev - and caused controversy. The second question, which raised various questions, concerns the unblocking process: the road connecting Nakhichevan to Meghri and the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia to Karabakh. These issues, and especially the Caucasus, are of great importance to Iran. Could you please provide your clarifications on these issues?
A. Grigoryan - Certainly, after the tripartite announcement, there were different discussions on different topics. Not only November 9 but also the war has been the subject of much discussion. And indeed, the war has had a tremendous impact on the region. It has opened the field for terrorists and other state forces to be present in our region. This has created instability in the region. We have warned everyone about this many times, but those warnings did not help us to prevent this process. As for the unblocking, I would like to note that it is specifically mentioned in the joint statements of both November 9 and January 11. I want to make it clear that there is no word about the corridor. Despite this, Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that there is a corridor discussion. I want to clarify that Armenia has never discussed, does not discuss, will not discuss any issue by corridor logic. We have not only passed this approach on to our partners, but we have regularly mentioned it publicly. Moreover, during the pre-election period in the city of Kapan, Prime Minister Pashinyan announced that there was no corridor and will not be. During this election, we received absolute support from the people, which means that society supports us in not providing a corridor. In other words, this is a public perception that there should be no corridor. Armenia is ready to provide a road, to open the roads, to provide all the existing roads, so that Azerbaijan and Turkey can use those roads. But all these roads will be under the sovereign control of Armenia, and in this regard, we have spoken publicly and told our partners about it.
Tasnim - Russia's Deputy Prime Minister recently stated that the working group of Deputy Prime Ministers discussed no corridor issue for the past nine months. Contrary to this statement, Ilham Aliyev states that the corridor will be opened whether through negotiations or by force. Is Aliyev's statement a threat or a demonstration of force?
A. Grigoryan - As you rightly mentioned, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister stated that there is no discussion about the corridor. The working group set up at the level of Deputy Prime Ministers does not discuss any issue about the corridor; this once again confirms that Armenia and Russia have a common approach to this issue. As for Aliyev’s statements, he is trying to make statements outside the negotiations, which in no way contributes to the positive progress of the negotiation process.
Tasnim - Do you mean that his statements are outside the scope of the ongoing negotiations?
A. Grigoryan - Yes. As for the demonstration of force, I would like to note that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia are ready to invest their full potential to protect the territorial integrity of Armenia. Armenia will not allow any border changes in the region. In this regard, we can say that there is an international consensus.
Tasnim - Iran has stated that the inviolability of its borders is its red line and will not allow geopolitical changes in the Caucasus. Beyond those assurances, there are rumours, some views, according to which it is possible to reach an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan and exchange territories. Armenia will provide a corridor to Azerbaijan in the south, and Azerbaijan will provide a territory to Armenia in the north. In other words, Syunik will be given to Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan will provide territory to Armenia in the north. These views are so prevalent in Iran that the Iranian public, population, and government circles are concerned that there may be shady agreements behind the curtains. In this regard, we ask you to send your clear message on these whispers and concerns.
A. Grigoryan – Indeed, these are whispers, moreover, false whispers. As there is an opportunity to speak publicly with the Iranian society and officials, I want to make it clear that the government of the Republic of Armenia has never; I repeat; never conducted any negotiations on the sovereign territory of Armenia. We have not negotiated, we are not negotiating, and we will not negotiate over the sovereign territory of Armenia. As you mentioned, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister stated that there was no discussion on the corridor. We have said that we have not conducted such negotiations; we will not conduct them. In general, they try to connect the topic of the corridor with the Lachin corridor. By the way, those talks have always been public, and everyone knew that we were negotiating about the Lachin corridor within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. And when Azerbaijan starts talking about the option of having such a corridor in Armenia, it completely violates the logic of the Lachin corridor. Nakhichevan is a part of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and connecting with the Nakhichevan corridor, he seems to be trying to recognize Nagorno Karabakh as part of Armenia. And going back to the topic of whispers or territorial exchanges, I want to clarify that such issues have never been discussed and will never be. It is possible to discuss things only in the logic of unblocking, as in the statements of November 9 and January 11. In the logic of the statements of November 9 and January 11, Armenia will have the opportunity to use the territory of Azerbaijan to connect with Asian countries, as well as with Russia. In other words, we will have the opportunity to use Azerbaijan's road and railway infrastructure. Azerbaijan, in its turn, will have the opportunity to use Armenia's roads to connect with Nakhichevan. There is a more important direction in the broader context of unblocking this infrastructure. Yerevan can reach Julfa (Iran) via Nakhichevan via the railway infrastructure and the Persian Gulf and Chabahar port; all infrastructures will be open for us. Iran also gets the opportunity to connect with Yerevan and Tbilisi, as well as to export goods and services to Europe. This is how we see the unblocking.
Tasnim - You spoke about the unblocking of roads; in that context, I want to refer to the road connecting the north to the south in the territory of Armenia, through which Iranian trucks transit. Problems have arisen here, and we know that Armenia is building an alternative road. Please clarify a little about these issues.
A. Grigoryan - You are right, there are some problems with the Armenia-Iran road, but the Armenian government is working hard to have the first alternative road ready by the end of the year. We can say that this is a short-term problem. However, there is a more important project. In late September, the Armenian government approved the North-south road project from Sisian to the Iranian border. This project, worth more than $ 1 billion and will completely change the infrastructure of the region. In carrying out this project, we also have in mind the idea of being a possible infrastructure hub by connecting the port of Chabahar to the Black Sea. In this regard, we can say that the program will provide a great opportunity to increase trade between Armenia and Iran. If the trade turnover between Armenia and Iran is in the hundreds of millions of dollars so far, we think it should soon cross the $ 1 billion mark; this will also increase the turnover to several billion in the future. In short, Armenia and Iran now have a wide range of positive agendas for bilateral relations.