Armenia’s Foreign Policy Has Become Unnecessary

9:41 Yerevan | 5:41 GMT | Thursday 24 July 2008

Hakob Badalyan

Armenia’s Foreign Policy Has Become Unnecessary

Serge Sargsyan says we should not demand or expect that our partner states do not have friendly relations with countries which are not friendly to us. He means Russia whose president has recently signed a declaration with Ilham Aliyev in Baku by which he rejected violent change of borders recognized by the international community. In other words, Russia recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Most political and public circles in Armenia found this to be a sign of neglect for Armenia on behalf of Russia, because our strategic partner signs a document with our foe or to put it mildly with our neighbor which contradicts to our interest. And in answer to this approach, this Armenian perception the president of Armenia explains that we cannot and we must not demand that our partner Russia does not have friendly relations with Azerbaijan.

Certainly we cannot. Neither morally nor physically. Physically, we were unable to demand anything from Russia even when the Armenians were killed by nationalists one after the other, and the murderers were acquitted. Morally, we cannot tell Russia not to be friends with Azerbaijan. However, friendship is one thing, and it is quite another thing when statements are made in friendship which show that friendship is at the expense of the interests of Armenia. Serge Sargsyan also says that it is worrying when the relation between our friend and foe is at the expense of Armenia. In the particular case of the declaration, it is evident that Russia is trying to make friends with Azerbaijan at the expense of the interests of Armenia. If today in order to buy the Azerbaijani gas or to set up good relations with this Caucasian country which possesses considerable energy resources Russia gives away the Armenian interest through words, nobody can guarantee that tomorrow it will not give it away in practice.

Moreover, there have already been practical expressions as well. It is enough to recall that in the PACE the Russian delegation has voted for several times for anti-Armenian, and sometimes even pro-Azerbaijani documents and initiatives. We have often explained that inside Russia there are administrative units, republics, sovereignties which have separatist moods, therefore the interests of Azerbaijan and Russia often coincide in international debates. It may be so, and this circumstance influences the stance of Russia. Interestingly, however, with similar coincidence with Georgia, Russia does not confess in the principle of territorial integrity regarding Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Therefore, the problem is not the threat of separatism. Today Moscow is strong enough to prevent or undermine them. Besides, the example of Kosovo revealed that such pronouncements as “how about you” or “how about us” are not a sign of professionalism. Consequently, when Moscow acknowledges Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, it is hardly determined by concerns about its internal integrity. It is also hardly probable that it is a statement which heads of states have to make, as Serge Sargsyan says. If we are guided by the approach “they have to do that”, diplomacy and foreign policy become unnecessary. On the other hand, particularly with regard to Russia, the foreign policy of Armenia became unnecessary a long time ago, and perhaps the ministry of economy could be entitled to the relations with Russia because Armenia and Russia seem to have no relations except for giving one mine or another, one factory or another. Although Serge Sargsyan says if we compare the document which resulted from his negotiations with Medvedev, its difference from the Aliyev-Medvedev document is huge. Maybe but in that document, for instance, Russia does not state anything about the self-determination of people, Although Serge Sargsyan stated that the heads of states have to acknowledge the principle of territorial integrity, like they have to acknowledge the principle of self-determination of peoples. It turns out that they do not have to.

Monday, 6 September 2010

Armenia’s Foreign Policy Has Become Unnecessary

9:41 Yerevan | 5:41 GMT | Thursday 24 July 2008

Hakob Badalyan

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