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CHRISTIAN ARMENIA AND ISLAMIC IRAN: AN UNUSUAL PARTNERSHIP EXPLAINED
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/276961-christian-armenia-and-islamic-iran-an-unusual-partnership-explained
By Harout Harry Semerdjian, Ph.D. candidate, University of Oxford, UK
- 01/14/13 12:30 PM ET
While the West has recently tightened its sanctions against Iran,
its only Christian neighbor has taken a different approach towards
the Islamic Republic. Political constraints and lack of options have
coerced landlocked Armenia to adopt a policy dissimilar to the West's
for one basic reason - survival.
Armenia is located in the South Caucasus - one of the most volatile
regions in the world, where East meets West and North meets South. It
lies at the crossroads of Islam and Christianity. This is where NATO
and the USSR once drew their boundary, but where war and history have
maintained closed borders even after the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991. This is also where expansive oil and gas pipelines traverse,
supplying Europe with energy resources from the hydrocarbon-rich
Caspian Sea.
Of all the countries in the region, geography and history have been
the cruelest to Armenia. The country is blockaded by two of its four
neighbors - Turkey to the West and Azerbaijan to the East and Southwest
- accounting for some eighty percent of the country's boundaries. Its
border with an often unstable Georgia remains open to the North as well
as a tiny 22-mile Southern border with Iran - termed as a "lifeline"
for the culturally-rich yet resource-poor country of 3 million.
Despite a current cease-fire, Armenia is technically still at
war with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where a
de-facto independent republic was proclaimed in 1992 after Armenian
forces established control over the territory and several districts
surrounding it. As a result, Turkey also severed ties with Armenia
and closed its border in solidarity with its ethnic kin, the Azeris.
Armenia's relations with Turkey also remain tense over the 1915
Armenian Genocide, when nearly the entire Armenian population of the
Ottoman Empire, two million people, was wiped out through massacres
and deportations. Turkey still denies the Genocide despite historical
evidence and international pressure to acknowledge the crimes committed
by its predecessors.
Given Iran's historic rivalry with Turkey and Russia for influence
in the Caucasus, its strained relations with Azerbaijan over that
country's rejection of an Islamic order, and its international
isolation, Iran has recently enhanced its economic, political
and cultural relations with Armenia. Additionally, northern Iran
is inhabited by over 15 million Azeris (double the population of
the Republic of Azerbaijan), driving Iran's concern of a potential
secessionist movement. Wary of this threat, a weak Azerbaijan is in
Iran's best interest and Armenia becomes an important leverage point
in this regard. Hence, we observe an unusual international relations
predicament in which the interests of an Islamic republic coincide
with those of a Christian state at the expense of another Muslim
country. In response, leaders of both Iran and Armenia are quick
to point out the historic relations between the two countries that
span several thousand years, as well as the presence of a substantial
Armenian community in Iran numbering 150,000. Two seats in the Iranian
Parliament are appointed for Armenian representation and northern Iran,
once a part of several Armenian kingdoms, is also home to ancient
Armenian monasteries designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites that
enjoy national and international protection - in stark contrast to
some three thousand Armenian churches in Turkey that fell victim to
cultural destruction during and after 1915.
Ultimately, for Armenia, embracing Iran becomes a matter of basic
survival, and for Iran, tiny Armenia becomes an outlet for global
reconnection and a means to put pressure on Azerbaijan. Meanwhile,
Armenia has made it clear that this relationship does not come at
the expense of its relations with the West or Russia. Russia remains
Armenia's strategic ally and Armenia has very warm and developing
relations with the United States and the EU. Large and influential
Armenian Diaspora communities, particularly in the United States
and France, become an important bridge between their ancestral and
adopted homelands and act as catalysts for Westernization. Over the
years, Armenia has espoused a policy of European orientation and
integration and hopes to become an EU member in time. As a means of
engaging regional and global powers without having to "pick and choose"
alliances, Armenia has carefully crafted a policy of "complementarity"
to survive and navigate difficult geopolitical terrain.
Last year marked the apex of Iranian-Armenian relations when the two
countries embarked on important economic projects, including the
construction of a hydro-electric plant on their shared border - a
welcome development for energy-hungry Armenia. There are talks now of
constructing an ambitious railway system and an oil pipeline between
the two countries. Both projects could eventually be extended to
Europe through Georgia, which will help alleviate Armenia's isolation
in the region. American tolerance of these growing ties still remains
to be seen. Thus far, the United States has been cautious but largely
understanding; however this could change in the future.
In order to keep Iranian-Armenian relations in check and to
assist Armenia in expanding its options in the region, the Obama
administration must put pressure on Turkey to open its border with
Armenia immediately and without preconditions. This would ensure
Armenia's access to Europe and beyond through Turkish territory. The
United States should also enhance its efforts in bringing forth a
solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully and resolutely.
Furthermore, the United States should assist Armenian integration
in regional economic and transportation projects and to energize
U.S.-Armenia economic relations via a bilateral Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement. The United States will thus help Armenia reduce
its dependence on Iran by ensuring the country's integration with
the West. Armenia and its people want no less and need American and
European assistance to achieve this objective. Otherwise, Armenia
will have no choice but to continue looking to Iran.
Semerdjian is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Oxford. He
holds M.A. degrees from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and
the University of California, Los Angeles.
Read more:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/276961-christian-armenia-and-islamic-iran-an-unusual-partnership-explained#ixzz2Hykn6aYn
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/276961-christian-armenia-and-islamic-iran-an-unusual-partnership-explained
By Harout Harry Semerdjian, Ph.D. candidate, University of Oxford, UK
- 01/14/13 12:30 PM ET
While the West has recently tightened its sanctions against Iran,
its only Christian neighbor has taken a different approach towards
the Islamic Republic. Political constraints and lack of options have
coerced landlocked Armenia to adopt a policy dissimilar to the West's
for one basic reason - survival.
Armenia is located in the South Caucasus - one of the most volatile
regions in the world, where East meets West and North meets South. It
lies at the crossroads of Islam and Christianity. This is where NATO
and the USSR once drew their boundary, but where war and history have
maintained closed borders even after the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991. This is also where expansive oil and gas pipelines traverse,
supplying Europe with energy resources from the hydrocarbon-rich
Caspian Sea.
Of all the countries in the region, geography and history have been
the cruelest to Armenia. The country is blockaded by two of its four
neighbors - Turkey to the West and Azerbaijan to the East and Southwest
- accounting for some eighty percent of the country's boundaries. Its
border with an often unstable Georgia remains open to the North as well
as a tiny 22-mile Southern border with Iran - termed as a "lifeline"
for the culturally-rich yet resource-poor country of 3 million.
Despite a current cease-fire, Armenia is technically still at
war with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where a
de-facto independent republic was proclaimed in 1992 after Armenian
forces established control over the territory and several districts
surrounding it. As a result, Turkey also severed ties with Armenia
and closed its border in solidarity with its ethnic kin, the Azeris.
Armenia's relations with Turkey also remain tense over the 1915
Armenian Genocide, when nearly the entire Armenian population of the
Ottoman Empire, two million people, was wiped out through massacres
and deportations. Turkey still denies the Genocide despite historical
evidence and international pressure to acknowledge the crimes committed
by its predecessors.
Given Iran's historic rivalry with Turkey and Russia for influence
in the Caucasus, its strained relations with Azerbaijan over that
country's rejection of an Islamic order, and its international
isolation, Iran has recently enhanced its economic, political
and cultural relations with Armenia. Additionally, northern Iran
is inhabited by over 15 million Azeris (double the population of
the Republic of Azerbaijan), driving Iran's concern of a potential
secessionist movement. Wary of this threat, a weak Azerbaijan is in
Iran's best interest and Armenia becomes an important leverage point
in this regard. Hence, we observe an unusual international relations
predicament in which the interests of an Islamic republic coincide
with those of a Christian state at the expense of another Muslim
country. In response, leaders of both Iran and Armenia are quick
to point out the historic relations between the two countries that
span several thousand years, as well as the presence of a substantial
Armenian community in Iran numbering 150,000. Two seats in the Iranian
Parliament are appointed for Armenian representation and northern Iran,
once a part of several Armenian kingdoms, is also home to ancient
Armenian monasteries designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites that
enjoy national and international protection - in stark contrast to
some three thousand Armenian churches in Turkey that fell victim to
cultural destruction during and after 1915.
Ultimately, for Armenia, embracing Iran becomes a matter of basic
survival, and for Iran, tiny Armenia becomes an outlet for global
reconnection and a means to put pressure on Azerbaijan. Meanwhile,
Armenia has made it clear that this relationship does not come at
the expense of its relations with the West or Russia. Russia remains
Armenia's strategic ally and Armenia has very warm and developing
relations with the United States and the EU. Large and influential
Armenian Diaspora communities, particularly in the United States
and France, become an important bridge between their ancestral and
adopted homelands and act as catalysts for Westernization. Over the
years, Armenia has espoused a policy of European orientation and
integration and hopes to become an EU member in time. As a means of
engaging regional and global powers without having to "pick and choose"
alliances, Armenia has carefully crafted a policy of "complementarity"
to survive and navigate difficult geopolitical terrain.
Last year marked the apex of Iranian-Armenian relations when the two
countries embarked on important economic projects, including the
construction of a hydro-electric plant on their shared border - a
welcome development for energy-hungry Armenia. There are talks now of
constructing an ambitious railway system and an oil pipeline between
the two countries. Both projects could eventually be extended to
Europe through Georgia, which will help alleviate Armenia's isolation
in the region. American tolerance of these growing ties still remains
to be seen. Thus far, the United States has been cautious but largely
understanding; however this could change in the future.
In order to keep Iranian-Armenian relations in check and to
assist Armenia in expanding its options in the region, the Obama
administration must put pressure on Turkey to open its border with
Armenia immediately and without preconditions. This would ensure
Armenia's access to Europe and beyond through Turkish territory. The
United States should also enhance its efforts in bringing forth a
solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully and resolutely.
Furthermore, the United States should assist Armenian integration
in regional economic and transportation projects and to energize
U.S.-Armenia economic relations via a bilateral Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement. The United States will thus help Armenia reduce
its dependence on Iran by ensuring the country's integration with
the West. Armenia and its people want no less and need American and
European assistance to achieve this objective. Otherwise, Armenia
will have no choice but to continue looking to Iran.
Semerdjian is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Oxford. He
holds M.A. degrees from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and
the University of California, Los Angeles.
Read more:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/276961-christian-armenia-and-islamic-iran-an-unusual-partnership-explained#ixzz2Hykn6aYn