Radar Armenia‘s interlocutor is Shahan Gantaharyan, an international scholar.
– The meeting between the presidents of Iran and Turkey was about setting a new milestone in relations. In your opinion, to what extent are the interests of Iran and Turkey aligned in our region, considering that Turkey is talking about the “Zangezur Corridor” and Iran is against it? Iran and Turkey’s presidents assessed the “3+3” dialogue mechanism as a suitable platform for consultations and constructive cooperation between the participating countries. What message does this statement convey to the USA and the EU?
– First, let’s record that “3+3” is currently 3+2. Georgia does not agree to join. The principal architect of “3+3” is Turkey, which, in this format, wants to take on the roles of mediator and guarantor in various processes. At first glance, the involvement of Iran is visible as the expulsion of the West. However, the process is not so simple. Turkey and Iran are entering the domain considered purely Russian. And Moscow agrees because it faces the pressures of the West. In essence, then, the Russian domain and monopoly status is made up of “3+3”, which is not unequivocally opposed to the interests of the West. Let’s not forget that Turkey is the primary second power of NATO, and Iran, in agreement with the West, is being isolated.
– Turkish President Erdoğan officially approved Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership protocol. What significance will this step have in US-Turkey relations?
– Turkey is selling its consent to Sweden’s NATO membership to the USA. Even before that, he was selling his veto against Sweden to Moscow. Now that the game has reached the finish line, Moscow realizes that, by cooperating with it, in the end, Ankara submits to Washington. But now Moscow has no alternative, and, against all these, it must continue cooperating with Ankara.
– The PACE decided not to ratify the powers of the delegation of Azerbaijan. Isn’t what happened another dead end from the point of view of continuing Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations on Western platforms?
– The decision of the PACE and the decisions yet to come from Europe are not necessarily due to the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations. The more Baku-Moscow cooperation deepens, the stronger the statements and resolutions from Europe will be.
