YEREVAN. - Armenia continues its work in direction of Iran; we have numerous projects with Iran, which will be implemented.
Vice President of the Armenian National Assembly (NA) Eduard Sharmazanov, who is also the spokesperson of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) told the aforementioned to journalists on Thursday, responding to the question of Armenian News – NEWS.am on whether Yerevan’s policy in direction of Iran has failed, considering the agreements reached in Baku regarding the export of the Iranian gas via the territory of Azerbaijan.
In Sharmazanov’s words, Armenia should continue developing ties in all the dimensions possible, but its blockade from the side of Turkey, the closed railway communication via Abkhazia and the Karabakh conflict don’t contribute to favorable positions in terms of economy and investments.
“We have communication problems. The problem is not in us: we are not guilty of the fact that Turkey has closed the border with us. We are not guilty of Azerbaijan’s maximalist and destructive stance. And we are not to be blamed for the fact that the railway station doesn’t work in the Abkhazian section. These are objective difficulties. But at the same time we use possible flexible methods so that our economy can develop. This may be invisible. Perhaps this is yet very little,” Sharamzanov said.
He also noted that the export from Armenia has increased 83-90 percent. “And Armenia’s participation in the Eurasian Economic Union is favorable to the country. It is necessary to speak based on the facts. Perhaps, the expected result wasn’t achieved because of certain issues. But the tax revenues on that part have increased 23 percent, the turnover of goods also growing. Yes, this is the answer to the people who said that Armenia’s accession to the EAEU has given nothing to us,” the NA Vice President said.
But Armenia continues its work in direction of Iran, Sharamazanov continued. “We have numerous projects with Iran, which will be implemented. But business likes two things: security and communication possibilities. We still limp on both directions but not through our fault. If the problem of the Russian-Georgian border is solved, I think the Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Russia railway will be the one working most effectively in this region,” Sharmazanov concluded.
As reported earlier, the presidents of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan met in Baku on Monday. After the trilateral summit, a number of important agreements were reached, specifically on the energy and transportation cooperation.
