IS
RUSSIA OUR FRIEND?
II
(Triangle of Russia-Iran-Armenia)
As it is
known, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics-USSR, which
survived for 70 years and was one of the powers determining
the balances of the world, was collapsed in late 1980’s and
many nations and communities under its rule entered a new
era. Within this framework, there have been significant
developments also in the Caucasus, and various states such
as Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia declared their
independence and started to exist on the world’s political
stage on their own. Meanwhile, Russia has gone on its way
with a new state model under the name of RUSSIAN FEDERATION
with its capital being Moscow again. While the new political
borders of the Russian Federation cover an area smaller than
the former USSR, the Caucasian region remains to be a
significant area of interest and benefit for Moscow.
Russia, an
old friend of Iran, is concerned mostly about the
instability that may occur in the southern borders,
Caucasia. The region has permanently been a center of
instability owing to the problems related with Chechnya,
South Osetia, Abkhazia and Nogorno Qarabagh. From this
perspective, the Nogorno Qarabagh issue and the relations
with Armenia make up a question which forces Moscow to be
cautious.
The fact
that the region has become a center of production and
distribution of world’s most important energy resources in
terms of oil and natural gas also makes Russia keep an eye
on this region. It is a very important factor for Russia to
have a country close to it in this region where energy lines
have intensified and there is a severe rivalry. All these
mentioned factors related with Russia make Armenia a country
with which it always has to maintain friendly relations. For
this reason, Armenia seems to be the closest strategic
partner of Russia in the region.
Contrary to
what is being thought, the largest Armenian diaspora is not
in the USA and the EU countries but in the Russian
Federation. In other words, the most crowded Armenian
diaspora in the world is living in the Russian Federation.
The Armenian population living in the Russian Federation is
about 2-2.5 million and almost twenty thousand Armenian
citizens emigrate from Armenia to Russia every year. These
close relations unfortunately brought about the occupation
of Qarabagh and Khojali and ethnic cleansing movements in
the last stage of the collapse of the Soviet Union during
which the Russian mechanized units supported the Armenians.
When we look from the perspective of our Bear Aunt (!)
Moscow, it is naturally possible to understand the “need to
have a regional ally in the Caucasus”; however, this search
for alliance should not mean a damage to the principle of
“not changing the national borders by force” and a
continuation of occupations in the region.
Accepting
the occupation by Armenia of more than 20 percent of the
Azerbaijan territories is impossible at least in terms of
establishing and preserving the regional peace. In this
respect, Moscow will gain regional and global prestige if
the Russian Federation expresses its influence on Armenia
and gives an end to this policy of occupation of Yerevan. On
the other hand, another issue of concern for Moscow is the
views voiced by the opposition parties in the previous
elections in Armenia suggesting that “Russia is not the only
way for Armenia” and “close relations should be established
with EU and/or NATO”. In fact, the number of those
complaining about the Russian influence on Armenia is not
small. It may still be recalled that on the brink of the
“orange” revolution in Ukraine, Aram Manukyan, Deputy
Chairman of the Armenian National Movement, criticized the
Russia-centered policy of Yerevan in a statement he made on
November 27, 2004 and expressed that “they were against the
policy applied by Russia against the Armenian state with the
aim of ‘making Armenia continuously dependent on Russia’ and
that Armenia had lost its influence and respect in the
regional politics due to its dependence on Russia”, and this
process is watched by Russia with a sensitive manner.
When we
approach the issue from a larger perspective, it will be
possible to see that the triangle of Iran-Russia-Armenia has
been formed due to the feeling of enmity against the Turkish
world and for purposes of self-interest. So, how are the
things going on in this damned triangle? While Tehran is
trying to become indispensable as a corridor of
transportation between the Indian Ocean and the former
Soviet Region, it is also making attempts to make Armenia
dependent on it. Armenia, on the other hand, is well aware
of the necessity to improve its relations with Iran in all
aspects owing to its current problems with Turkey and
Azerbaijan. As a matter of fact, Armenia, which is an inland
country with no sea and surrounded by its neighbors, Turkey,
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran, is taking pains to keep Iran
under its control. However, the usual shrewdness of Russia
offends the other two countries of the triangle. For
instance, the Russian capital and investments in Armenia are
increasing day by day. Within this framework, many
enterprises and factories in the country have been
privatized and transferred to the Russian capital due to the
Armenian debts to Russia, but many of these facilities are
inactive without any production. This generates public
reaction in Armenia where the unemployment rate is very high
and gives rise to migration. The reactions in the Russian
official circles and public opinion are growing against the
Armenian migrants the number of whom is rapidly increasing
and a major part of whom is illegally living in different
cities. Also there is an increasing number of reports
suggesting that the Russian Government has “started taking
strict measures in the struggle against illegal migrants”.
Therefore, these measures taken by the Russian officials
haphazardly affect the Armenian migrants as well.
While
Russia is continuing to take measures against the Armenians
there, the concessions made by Iran to Armenia and Armenian
citizens create reactions by the people living in the
region. The agreement which was recently signed between the
Armenian and Iranian authorities in regard to the
“construction and use of the hydro-energy plant” on the
River Aras constitutes an example to the concessions of Iran
towards Armenia. The most important detail that must be
expressed is the fact that all the construction expenses of
the “Megrinskaya Hydro-energy Plant”, which is determined to
be 150 million US dollars, will be met by the Islamic
Republic. According to the Armenian Energy Minister Armen
Movsesyan, the mentioned plant will be the “most productive
facility of Armenia”.
When we
continue to examine the economic aspect of the issue, it is
not possible not mentioning the project which was put into
practice by Iran in December 2005 completely upon the
recommendations of Russia. Iran, which put into practice a
project that gives priority to the development of the Meghri
region of Armenia, has developed a housing plan involving
the settlement of Armenians who are Iranian citizens in the
area starting from the region across the Megri region, where
it is planned to construct a hydro-energy plant, up to
Parsabad on the Azerbaijani border. Within the framework of
the above-mentioned project, all the buildings the
construction of which have been completed in the region were
transferred to the individuals of Armenian origin.
Meanwhile, it is deemed important to recall the claims
suggesting that joint efforts and secret commercial
activities are carried out in the “Sungun” copper mine in
the Ahar Region near the city of Keleyber in S. Azerbaijan
in order to send the copper extracted from the said region
to Armenia in the form of economic support in accordance
with a secret agreement signed between Iran and Armenia, and
also that Armenian engineers working in the copper mine
occasionally travel to the region without encountering any
difficulties in their entries to and exists from Iran and
without any registration.
The
closeness between Armenia and Iran is not only limited to
energy and mining. As a matter of fact, in the recent years,
Armenia has exceeded the limits of its commercial relations
with Iran to cover military, cultural, social and diplomatic
relations. Today, many Iranian young individuals receive
education at Armenian universities, and the two countries
ignore the “Azerbaijani question” and maintain a close
relationship. The historical and geographic textbooks
prepared by the Armenian Ministry of Education for the
Armenians living in Iran can be an example to the
educational and cultural closeness. The above-mentioned
textbooks, which were printed through the financial support
provided by the Iranian Government and were made ready for
the 2006-2007 educational year, show western Azerbaijan and
eastern Turkey within the borders of “Greater Armenia”.
Today there are approximately 25 Armenian schools in various
cities of Iran and about 12 thousand students receive
education at these schools.
These
developments which are explained in short reveal the
tolerance of Iran towards Armenia in terms of both internal
and external politics. Now one needs to ask… What is the
reason for this closeness between Iran, which is ruled by
religious principles, and Armenia, which has declared war
against Muslim Azerbaijan? The Tehran Leadership is
following a policy of attracting Armenia. On what principles
this policy of the Tehran Leadership, which signed an
agreement with Baku on “not attacking each another” in April
2005, is working? Political observers state that the Iranian
Leadership is in an effort to closely monitor the activities
carried out by the USA via Armenia and to seem sympathetic
to the Armenian lobby in the USA. In fact, the Armenian
lobby in the USA has a very big influence on the political
decision-making mechanisms. Moreover, it is also claimed
that the Armenians living in Iran are collecting detailed
information about the Turkish organizations acting on the
issue of S. Azerbaijan and are informing the Iranian
Government.
Meanwhile,
everyone will easily guess that the question of S.
Azerbaijan is not the most important issue bringing Iran and
Armenians closer. In fact, there are also certain historical
facts uniting the Armenians with the Persians. Iran
mentions, from time to time, its ideal to establish an
“Aryan association” or “Aryan center” in Iran with a view
“to have the Aryan race establish brotherhood and alliance”.
Furthermore, Iran wishes that the Persians-Armenians and all
the nations from the Aryan race gather around this center on
the basis of “Aryanism”. So, we can see that the ethnic
closeness between Armenia and Iran is put before the
religious structure, and the “Aryan nationalism” is given
priority.
