One circumstance must be taken into account here. The stumbling block and source of instability in the region has always been Azerbaijan. This country has requirements for all countries in the region, including Turkey. It is true that claims on Turkey are of purely moral quality: constant requests for support and assistance in resolving the Karabakh conflict have put Turkey in a very awkward position. But this is just, in passing.

In the relations Armenia-Iran it occurred as in the well-known proverb “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Frankly speaking, the situation is not very good, but it is better than nothing. It is worth noting that for several years now Tehran has been trying to join in the regulation process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Naturally, she will not succeed, as she won’t be let into the negotiation process for fear of turning it into a “showdown” between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Besides one cannot disregard the fact that Iran, to some extent, is considered a pariah state and all her initiatives are shattered by the disapproval of the international community of the country that is remarkably consistent in her determination to bring its nuclear program to its logical conclusion. But the same international community, in relation to the embargo on trade and cooperation with Iran, acts selectively. As we know, there are a number of American companies successfully cooperating with Iran. It is idisputable that the U.S. government knows about it, but it prefers to turn a blind eye to it. Despite the “out of favour” president and the nuclear program, it is disadvantageous for the United States to have a conflict with Iran, since she ranks second in the world by oil and gas reserves.

But let us revert to the Armenian-Iranian relations. They are, in general, normal and tend to improve, which is important for Armenia, located in a shipping deadlock. As recent developments show, Georgia does not behave in the best possible way, playing on the nerves and permanently closing the checkpoint Upper Lars. Roughly speaking, Georgia behaves worse than Baku, but it is inexplicable Armenia does not share a conflict like Karabakh with Georgia. However, the authorities of this country are doing their best to make sure the situation in Javakhk gets out of control. It will not happen tomorrow, nor the day after it, but it certainly will one day, if, when in Yerevan, the Foreign Minister of Georgia makes statements like “Javakhk is not on the map of Georgia”. And the Foreign Ministry of Armenia will be silent, since it is in impasse. In a word, Georgia behaves like a little kid, who was allowed to indulge, and so she indulges herself. But we shall hope that she won’t get away with it very long.

In this regard, Iran is quite a self-sufficient country, which doesn’t need to infringe on the rights of the Armenian community. Moreover, Armenians are the only religious minority in this country, who, by the constitution, have their representatives in parliament. Recall the history we can say that the Persian Empire always took Armenians from the conquered territories, resettled them and forced to work for the empire. Let us agree that it is much better than slaughter...

In this regard, we recall the words of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who said that in its foreign policy Iran attaches great importance to developing relations with neighboring states, and in this context, Armenia occupies a special place. Hopefully, it will be so in the foreseeable future.