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Unique: Armenian president hails ‘new web page’ in ties with Saudi Arabia, thanks Arab world for offering refuge after genocide
YEREVAN: A phrase Armen Sarkissian likes to repeat when describing his imaginative and prescient for Armenia is “small nation, international state.” As president of the republic, he doesn’t mince his phrases in the case of his nation’s strengths, weaknesses, alternatives and threats.
Occupying solely 29,743 sq. kilometers of territory, Armenia is comparable in measurement to Belgium or the US state of Maryland. Nonetheless, whereas there are fewer than three million Armenians residents dwelling in his nation, the Armenian diaspora worldwide is estimated to be between 5 and 7 million — with the US alone accounting for as much as 1.5 million.
Famend for his or her contributions globally, together with within the Arab world, Armenians have left their mark in science, politics, sports activities, tradition and leisure. That is most likely why Sarkissian not solely considers his nation’s diaspora a serious level of power, however goes so far as to say that Armenians overseas are as necessary a nationwide useful resource as oil is to Gulf nations. The truth is, he believes on this thought a lot that he needs his nation’s structure to alter, to allow extra Armenians dwelling overseas to take part in authorities.
“By structure, an Armenian from overseas can not develop into a minister except he lives 4 years, the final 4 years, in Armenia, and carries solely an Armenian passport, which I think about full nonsense on this new world,” he tells Arab Information in his first interview with a Saudi media outlet. “It ought to be the opposite means round. You need to carry folks which might be so profitable worldwide. There are lots of of hundreds of skilled folks and we’re not utilizing them. I imply, think about a Gulf state that determined to not use oil.”
To enrich this, Sarkissian additionally believes in investing closely in human capital at house and is happy with what Armenia has achieved within the fields of expertise and science, one thing he says all good nations — comparable to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE — are already doing.
However regardless of this promising imaginative and prescient, the vibe is just not all that optimistic in Yerevan, as persons are aware of their nation’s weaknesses and the threats it faces. The geopolitical shadows of the previous appear to hang-out the current — very similar to the everlasting flame on the coronary heart of Tsitsernakaberd, the genocide memorial devoted to the lives of the 1.5 million Armenians who perished by the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916.
Modern-day Turkey — considered one of Armenia’s 4 neighbors, together with Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan — nonetheless doesn’t acknowledge the genocide and stays at odds with Yerevan. Final 12 months, a second conflict erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But once more, the battle was over the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally acknowledged as Azeri. Turkey publicly supported Baku, whereas Iran is claimed to have silently supported Armenia — although that is disputed by some lecturers and analysts in Yerevan.
The conflict ended with an Azeri victory and a cease-fire brokered by Russia, leaving a Armenia in a battle to stop the tough geopolitical realities of the current from interfering with its bold imaginative and prescient of the long run.
This was a problem for Sarkissian, but additionally meant discovering new — and far wanted — horizons and alternatives for Armenia. One apparent alternative was Saudi Arabia, which since final 12 months has been advocating for a peaceable resolution between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
A historic go to
Sarkissian made historical past in October when he turned the primary Armenian president to go to Saudi Arabia for the reason that independence of his nation in 1991. Though the 2 nations have by no means been mutually hostile, neither have they’d diplomatic relations since Riyadh supported Azerbaijan’s place within the first Karabakh conflict in 1988-1994.
Sarkissian says that’s “unlucky,” and that considered one of his “first objectives” upon changing into president in 2018 was to ascertain diplomatic ties with the Kingdom, which he describes as a “essential, very influential and really distinguished state, the guardian of the religion of Islam.”
Throughout his go to, Sarkissian sat subsequent to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the Future Funding Initiative convention, sometimes called “Davos within the Desert.” He revealed to Arab Information the substance of his discussions with the crown prince, which he says weren’t prolonged however “very particular.”
“Initially, it was a dialogue in regards to the respect of the 2 sides for one another as a nation, as a state, and as people. The second factor was that we spoke about our diplomatic relations, and we agreed that in actuality our diplomatic relations began with that go to, and I’ve made invites for the minister of state and overseas minister of Saudi Arabia, and naturally His Royal Highness, to go to Armenia.
“The third most necessary a part of our dialogue was centered on the long run, and I used to be very pleased to search out in my discussions with His Royal Highness that he’s very centered on the way forward for his nation, on the way forward for the area, on the way forward for the Gulf and the way forward for the world.”
Sarkissian says a timeline for exchanging ambassadors and opening embassies is a matter for the related departments in his authorities and the Saudi International Ministry. “To be sincere, for me that is secondary, as a result of what we agreed to is to contemplate that we now have opened a brand new web page in our relationships,” he says.
Sarkissian regrets that his go to was restricted to in the future, however he met many individuals — and the most important influencing issue for him was his dialog with the crown prince. “I do imagine in his honesty as a frontrunner and the place he’s main his nation, and that’s very a lot in the best course,” he says.
Nonetheless, Armenia additionally enjoys pleasant relations with Iran, a regime notorious for interfering within the affairs of its neighbors and influencing selections to serve its pursuits. Would this deter any prospect of normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia and average Arab states? “No, under no circumstances,” says Sarkissian. Armenia is just not a spiritual state and already enjoys “glorious relations” with Arab nations in addition to Iran, which “didn’t take the trail of destroying Armenian heritage or church buildings —the truth is the federal government financed the restoration of Armenian church buildings in Iran.”
He clarify that it’s in his nation’s curiosity to keep up good relations with Tehran. “We’re a landlocked state,” and Yerevan already has troubled relations with two neighbors (Turkey and Azerbaijan), so it can not afford to upset the connection it enjoys with the remaining two, Iran and Georgia, which he describes as his nation’s gateway to Russia and the Black Sea.
However, Sarkissian does perceive what he describes because the “issues” of Saudi Arabia. “I do perceive and I see the tensions, I do perceive and see Iran and the Gulf, Iran and Lebanon, OK, and I see what Saudi Arabia is doing within the area and the Gulf.”
However what precisely are the depths of the Armenian-Iranian relationship? Does Tehran play any function militarily, or intrude in safety or coverage affairs, because it does with nearly all its neighbors?
I do perceive the issues of Saudi Arabia. I do perceive and I see the tensions, I do perceive and see Iran and the Gulf, Iran and Lebanon
“They don’t intrude in navy or safety,” Sarkissian insists. “They’ve their pursuits in what is occurring now within the south of Armenia, which after all issues Iran.” Yerevan and Tehran take pleasure in a relationship that’s historic and cultural, and have mutual pursuits comparable to vitality and commerce, he says.
However what about perceptions of Tehran’s secret assist for Armenia through the current Karabakh conflict? And the way does President Sarkissian interpret Iranian navy drills close to the Azeri border?
“That’s their very own coverage, they don’t intrude in Armenia,” he replies. “I feel … in the event that they really feel a hazard taking place on their borders it’s their inside subject.”
Sarkissian additionally strongly rejects solutions that the Karabakh battle was not only a land dispute, but additionally a spiritual conflict between Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan. “It was by no means a spiritual conflict,” he says. “Armenia has great relations with loads of states the place Islam is a serious faith, states the place Islam is the one faith, or states which have Islam as their state faith”.
“The opposite facet (referring to Azerbaijan and Turkey) typically like to make use of that (the “non secular conflict” description) so as as a way to accumulate assist from Islamic world, however Armenia by no means tried to get assist from Christian states.”
In the meantime, a number of Armenian analysts have criticized what they describe as Pakistan’s open and ideological assist for the Azerbaijani-Turkish axis, and say that joint navy drills with the Azeri facet additional complicate the scenario. Sarkissian says Yerevan has no diplomatic relations with Pakistan — “I’m making an attempt to construct them, as a result of I don’t come from the idea that if someone helps my competitor or the enemy I shouldn’t speak to him.
“Pakistan is just not a rustic we will ignore. We aren’t able of going to conflict with Pakistan, that’s full nonsense. We should always attempt to have a dialogue and see the place it takes us, and once more I don’t see any once more contradiction between having a dialogue with Pakistan and our deep and good relations with India.”
Peace within the South Caucasus?
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay mentioned final week that Ankara was engaged on advancing the dialogue with Armenia, in coordination with Azerbaijan. “Turkey stands not just for the normalization of relations with Armenia, but additionally for peace and stability in your entire Caucasus,” he mentioned. Turkey has engaged in an array of regional conflicts lately, and its economic system has now deteriorated to unprecedented ranges. Though this isn’t the primary try to bridge the rift between the 2 neighbors, many observers imagine Ankara’s political and financial difficulties current a real alternative for Armenia.
So, does Yerevan welcome these developments? Does this Armenian goodwill expressed by its president lengthen to arch-rival Turkey?
“Armenia is politically divided, particularly after the conflict, as you possibly can think about,” Sarkissian says. “Each state, when you will have a conflict and also you lose the conflict and there are such a lot of tensions, then it’s not homogeneous in its habits. I might by no means say that I communicate on behalf of all Armenians.
“I’m the president of a parliamentary republic, I’m the pinnacle of state, however I’m not the manager who runs present affairs within the authorities. It’s the federal government that has to reply to the Turkish facet, and the provide.” It will be unsuitable for him to remark or choose at this stage, he says.
“Any settlement … ought to undergo a proper means of being dropped at the parliament,” he explains. “The second it reaches my desk you’ll hear my voice, and because the president of the republic I can both signal no matter is agreed — if I think about that it’s in concord with the nationwide curiosity of the state and the folks of Armenia — or I’ve an opportunity not signal it, after which ship it, for instance, to the constitutional court docket so the highest attorneys can talk about this subject and provides me recommendation.”
As for Azerbaijan, for the reason that worldwide neighborhood has acknowledged Karabakh as Azeri and makes an attempt to resolve the problem proceed, does Sarkissian see any function for influential regional or non secular our bodies such because the Gulf Cooperation Council or the Group of Islamic Cooperation in supporting peace efforts within the Caucasus?
“My recommendation could be, let’s attempt to discover a logical resolution that can be acceptable on either side. Any resolution that’s compelled is not going to final,” he says.
Sarkissian argues that it’s the Azeris who ought to be providing compromises to make sure a long-lasting peace. “There may be not a lot the Armenian facet can compromise on immediately,” he says. “We might have compromised ranging from 1994, once we had been victorious … that was the time for compromise and to return to a diplomatic resolution slightly than a conflict resolution that’s an enormous remorse, as a result of hundreds of younger lives had been misplaced for one thing that might have been achieved by means of diplomatic channels.”
Let’s attempt to discover a logical resolution that can be acceptable on either side. Any resolution that’s compelled is not going to final
However, the conflict was not an entire loss for Armenia. Sarkissian attracts an attention-grabbing analogy with Turkey, and explains why there are nonetheless loads of alternatives for his nation.
“Throughout the conflict, we misplaced. However the Armenian financial unit — the dram — was steady. It misplaced slightly bit, however after the conflict it turned stronger than earlier than. Towards the US greenback, the Turkish lira went down dramatically.”
The important thing distinction, Sarkissian says, is that Armenia has safeguarded the independence of its central financial institution, whereas Turkey has not. “There’s one thing we did proper across the early Nineteen Nineties, we rebuilt our banking sector. We had greater than 150 banks, and as in each Soviet republic most of them had been pyramid schemes, however we managed to herald worldwide banks.
“The primary was HSBC, I’m proud to say I introduced them right here, and so they helped us to construct our legal guidelines into the banking sector. And in Armenia we now have a central financial institution that’s actually unbiased from the federal government.”
Banking is just not the one sector Sarkissian is happy with. He speaks extremely of Armenia’s expertise and agricultural sectors, and even his nation’s pure water. Sipping from a bottle of regionally sourced nonetheless water, he elaborates on how wealthy his nation is in pure water, and insists he can distinguish between the completely different tastes —like a wine connoisseur.
Armenia joined the Eurasian Financial Union in 2015, but additionally has sturdy financial relations with the EU. Sarkissian says the ensuing tax and customs alignments current a possibility for Gulf firms and others to register in Armenia and run companies from there. “A number of nations, together with Singapore, wish to have deeper relations with the Eurasian Financial Union, and Armenia is usually a gateway,” he says.
A message to the Arab world
Sarkissian remembers the important thing function performed by the Gulf states and the Arab world in offering refuge for Armenians who escaped the 1915-1916 genocide.
“They discovered properties in Syria, in Lebanon, in Egypt, within the Gulf states together with Saudi Arabia,” he says. “I take this chance to thank these nations, and the heads of state of all these Center Jap states, particularly Arab states, that had been so brotherly to us.
“These are states the place the principle faith is Islam, or the one faith is Islam, and so they took in homeless Armenians who had been Christians as their brothers and sisters. So this is a chance to thank them.”
Considerably, greater than 100 years later, that migration is occurring in reverse as Armenians flee their determined plight in nations comparable to Syria and Lebanon. Sarkissian believes that, actually within the case of Lebanon, it could be preferable to assist the Armenian neighborhood in remaining of their adopted nation.
“5 or ten years in the past that was a rustic that was dwelling in concord,” he says. “After all there was interference there, however what they bought unsuitable was on the monetary facet, due to the construction of the structure and the best way they had been working their affairs.
“However I might love to assist our Armenian neighborhood there so they may keep, as a result of there may be an excessive amount of tradition, an excessive amount of presence, and they’re necessary — as are our Armenian communities in lots of different locations.”
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