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Will the US Punish Armenia?
http://asbarez.com/104894/will-the-us-punish-armenia/
Tuesday, August 21st, 2012 | Posted by Ara Khachatourian
Reportedly Clinton warned Sarkisian during her June visit
BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
The warped State Department-hatched Turkey-Armenia Protocols did not yield
the necessary results for the US, nor have efforts to strong-arm Armenia
into making dangerous concessions on the Karabakh front, so the US has
renewed an old `concern' by alleging that Iran is using Armenia to for
financial transactions that might violate international sanctions on Tehran
over its nuclear program.
An exclusive report by Reuters Tuesday, citing a nebulous `Western
intelligence report' and quoting anonymous diplomatic sources, claimed
that Iran is seeking financial alternatives `in countries that do not
work according to the dictates of the West' is looking to expand its
banking foothold in Armenia to allegedly deceive Western governments
that have been attempting to curtail Iranian banking activities
worldwide to thwart Iran's nuclear program.
The so-called `Western intelligence report,' according to Reuters, has
singled out the Yerevan-based ACBA Credit Agricole Bank, one of the largest
in Armenia, as one of Iran's principal targets. Reuters also spoke to an
anonymous Western UN diplomat who confirmed that ACBA was `a bank that has
come up in connection with Iran.' He declined to provide details of any
potentially illicit ACBA transactions linked to Iran, said Reuters.
This fracas has prompted the Armenian Central Bank to issue a blunt denial,
echoing earlier statements by ACBA officials, who in the Reuters report,
vehemently denied the allegations that the financial institution is being
used by Iran for illicit activities.
`The Central Bank of Armenia obligates all banks and financial institutions
in the Republic of Armenia to scrutinize their transactions, in order to
avoid any possible involvement in transactions considered unacceptable by
the international community,' said a statement issued by the CBA.
`We don't have any relationship with Iran,' The ACBA chief executive
Stepan Gishian told Reuters. `We never have, we don't now and
furthermore we don't plan on becoming a channel for financing Iran.
What you're saying is complete nonsense.'
Furthermore, recent news reports indicate that Armenia has been following
the mandates set forth by the sanctions imposed both on Iran and Syria,
since Syrian and Iranian nationals of Armenian descent have experienced
difficulty opening bank accounts in Armenia, because of their citizenship.
This is especially disheartening to Armenians who are leaving Syria due to
the crisis there and are experiencing hurdles in establishing themselves in
Armenia.
The Reuters reports does state that Turkey and the United Arab Emirates
remain Iran's largest banking connections, but claims that due to US
pressure, especially the government of Turkey has become more vigilant in
its business with Iran.
Reportedly, President Serzh Sarkisian was cautioned by Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton during her visit in June to Armenia about US concerns over
the Iran's interests in Armenia.
Iran remains one of Armenia's largest trading partners with a reported $1
billion in trade. Asbarez has extensively reported about the intense desire
by Armenia and Iran to strengthen their strategic partnership through
varied projects, including the construction of an oil pipeline and a
highway that would connect Iran's port of Bandar Abbas with Batumi in
Georgia, thus providing a direct link for Armenia to a seaport.
Evidently, this organic neighborly and centuries-old relationship between
Armenia and Iran does not sit well with the US and its Western allies, who
are keen on tightening the noose around Iran's neck because of concerns
over its nuclear program and be damned whatever stands in their way.
However justified those concerns might be, Armenia should not be penalized
by the US, which in its efforts to police the world, is bullying nations to
conform to its standards.
If the US scrutinized its own domestic financial system as meticulously as
it does other nations' perhaps the loopholes that allowed for the collapse
of the banking system and wide-spread corruption in this country would have
been avoided.
Moreover, if the US went as far as to caution Armenia, it has not lifted a
finger to force Turkey and Azerbaijan to lift their blockade of Armenia,
which has been in place since 1993 and in international legal circles is
considered an act of aggression or war. Instead the US has concocted
convoluted schemes - the Protocols and policy on Karabakh - that abets Turkey
to continue its denial of the Genocide and face history and diminishes the
sacred principle of self-determination.
The Reuter report is a harbinger of things to come. The failed approaches
by the US to address concerns in the South Caucasus have now taken on a
worrisome tone. How far will the US go to force its misplaced policies on
other nations, especially Armenia?
http://asbarez.com/104894/will-the-us-punish-armenia/
Tuesday, August 21st, 2012 | Posted by Ara Khachatourian
Reportedly Clinton warned Sarkisian during her June visit
BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
The warped State Department-hatched Turkey-Armenia Protocols did not yield
the necessary results for the US, nor have efforts to strong-arm Armenia
into making dangerous concessions on the Karabakh front, so the US has
renewed an old `concern' by alleging that Iran is using Armenia to for
financial transactions that might violate international sanctions on Tehran
over its nuclear program.
An exclusive report by Reuters Tuesday, citing a nebulous `Western
intelligence report' and quoting anonymous diplomatic sources, claimed
that Iran is seeking financial alternatives `in countries that do not
work according to the dictates of the West' is looking to expand its
banking foothold in Armenia to allegedly deceive Western governments
that have been attempting to curtail Iranian banking activities
worldwide to thwart Iran's nuclear program.
The so-called `Western intelligence report,' according to Reuters, has
singled out the Yerevan-based ACBA Credit Agricole Bank, one of the largest
in Armenia, as one of Iran's principal targets. Reuters also spoke to an
anonymous Western UN diplomat who confirmed that ACBA was `a bank that has
come up in connection with Iran.' He declined to provide details of any
potentially illicit ACBA transactions linked to Iran, said Reuters.
This fracas has prompted the Armenian Central Bank to issue a blunt denial,
echoing earlier statements by ACBA officials, who in the Reuters report,
vehemently denied the allegations that the financial institution is being
used by Iran for illicit activities.
`The Central Bank of Armenia obligates all banks and financial institutions
in the Republic of Armenia to scrutinize their transactions, in order to
avoid any possible involvement in transactions considered unacceptable by
the international community,' said a statement issued by the CBA.
`We don't have any relationship with Iran,' The ACBA chief executive
Stepan Gishian told Reuters. `We never have, we don't now and
furthermore we don't plan on becoming a channel for financing Iran.
What you're saying is complete nonsense.'
Furthermore, recent news reports indicate that Armenia has been following
the mandates set forth by the sanctions imposed both on Iran and Syria,
since Syrian and Iranian nationals of Armenian descent have experienced
difficulty opening bank accounts in Armenia, because of their citizenship.
This is especially disheartening to Armenians who are leaving Syria due to
the crisis there and are experiencing hurdles in establishing themselves in
Armenia.
The Reuters reports does state that Turkey and the United Arab Emirates
remain Iran's largest banking connections, but claims that due to US
pressure, especially the government of Turkey has become more vigilant in
its business with Iran.
Reportedly, President Serzh Sarkisian was cautioned by Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton during her visit in June to Armenia about US concerns over
the Iran's interests in Armenia.
Iran remains one of Armenia's largest trading partners with a reported $1
billion in trade. Asbarez has extensively reported about the intense desire
by Armenia and Iran to strengthen their strategic partnership through
varied projects, including the construction of an oil pipeline and a
highway that would connect Iran's port of Bandar Abbas with Batumi in
Georgia, thus providing a direct link for Armenia to a seaport.
Evidently, this organic neighborly and centuries-old relationship between
Armenia and Iran does not sit well with the US and its Western allies, who
are keen on tightening the noose around Iran's neck because of concerns
over its nuclear program and be damned whatever stands in their way.
However justified those concerns might be, Armenia should not be penalized
by the US, which in its efforts to police the world, is bullying nations to
conform to its standards.
If the US scrutinized its own domestic financial system as meticulously as
it does other nations' perhaps the loopholes that allowed for the collapse
of the banking system and wide-spread corruption in this country would have
been avoided.
Moreover, if the US went as far as to caution Armenia, it has not lifted a
finger to force Turkey and Azerbaijan to lift their blockade of Armenia,
which has been in place since 1993 and in international legal circles is
considered an act of aggression or war. Instead the US has concocted
convoluted schemes - the Protocols and policy on Karabakh - that abets Turkey
to continue its denial of the Genocide and face history and diminishes the
sacred principle of self-determination.
The Reuter report is a harbinger of things to come. The failed approaches
by the US to address concerns in the South Caucasus have now taken on a
worrisome tone. How far will the US go to force its misplaced policies on
other nations, especially Armenia?