Possible extraterritorial nature of communications through Armenia is unacceptable for Iran – Andrey Areshev

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist and expert at the Strategic Culture Foundation Andrey Areshev commented on the pre-election situation in Georgia and Russian-Iranian relations, noting that now Russia and Iran are cooperating quite closely in different areas.

“Speaking about Georgia, of course, Mr. Ivanishvili’s latest statement, in my opinion, is very bold, but it can be turned against him. Protests have already broken out by the nationalist part of the Georgian political spectrum, incited by the West, which is strong enough and is now doing everything to accuse the ruling party and its informal leader of capitulation, betrayal, etc. We understand that this is not true and that his statement is more than reasonable, but for those forces who will use it now, it looks completely different. And it is really completely unclear how the election will end, so the situation is very heated,” the political scientist noted.

Touching upon Russian-Iranian relations, the political scientist stressed that the visit of the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia was conditioned by a broader framework of regional policy.

“Perhaps Iranians saw some discrepancies in the statements of some Russian politicians and heads of certain departments regarding this rather sensitive issue for both Armenia and Iran about the possible extraterritorial nature of those communication routes that may be opened through the territory of Armenia. Indeed, some media outlets and some MPs raised an information wave, not at the highest level, but still. I think that Mr. Shoigu’s visit was in one way or another intended to dot the I. But at the same time, the visit of the Secretary of the Security Council was conditioned by a broader framework of Russian-Iranian relations. We know that a large agreement between the two countries is currently at the stage of final approval and that some events have made certain adjustments. Most likely, there are also some regional issues that require quite intensive coordination at a high level. I believe that Russia and Iran are now cooperating quite closely in different areas. Some potentially controversial or sensitive issues require an appropriate style to discuss them in a constructive way. By the way, this is a very illustrative and instructive example for Armenian politicians and diplomats that even if there are sensitive issues and you do not want to play, it is better to solve the issues on the sidelines rather than making rash statements at the highest official level,” Areshev said.