Armenia’s Foreign Policy: Interview with Vladimir Karapetyan

Discover key highlights within the Web3 area. This article dives into: “Armenia’s Foreign Policy: Interview with Vladimir Karapetyan”.

Introduction

Armenia, a landlocked nation on the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, boasts a wealthy cultural heritage and a dynamic historical past that has formed its nationwide identification.

Situated strategically within the South Caucasus, Armenia is actively working with quite a few worldwide companions to advance each financial growth and regional stability, navigating relations between its long-standing ally Russia and the West, notably the United States.

In this context, SpecialEurasia just lately interviewed the brand new Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Italy, H.E. Vladimir Karapetyan, to amass insights into his imaginative and prescient and the present state of Armenia’s international relations and home alternatives.

Given the complexities of the present geopolitical situation, might you elaborate on the first pointers and strategic aims that outline Armenia’s international coverage strategy within the face of those developments?

“Definitely and clearly the occasions of adjustments deliver large threats, however from the opposite facet large alternatives as properly. We are attempting to handle threats and to make use of alternatives.

Currently Armenia is pursuing the balanced and balancing international coverage which signifies that we are attempting to create steadiness between our completely different relations with the European Union, with Russia, with our regional powers.

Our relations with our neighbours – Georgia and Iran are essential. We are engaged on the institution of diplomatic relations with Turkey, we are attempting to achieve a peace cope with Azerbaijan. Of course, it isn’t simple, however we don’t assume it’s not possible.

What is essential that we’re suspiciously clear with all our worldwide companions.”

How does Armenia reconcile its Westward trajectory, together with EU accession efforts, with the financial dependence on remittances from Russia and membership within the Eurasian Economic Union?

“Armenia’s latest legislative transfer towards the European Union is a symbolic gesture of the Armenian nation’s aspirations. In actuality, the initiative was by the civil society which offered the draft regulation on beginning the method of accession of Armenia to the European Union and our Government and Parliament endorsed that which signifies that we legally begin the method of getting increasingly more nearer to that European Union.

Why will we need to be nearer to the European Union? Because we’re democracy. When you might be democracy you need to be nearer or in mainstream of democracy, as a result of in any other case could be illogical.

In latest years super adjustments and enhancements have occurred in our relationships with the European Union, for instance the negotiation course of on visa liberalization settlement, which was in our agenda for lengthy years, at present is in an lively part. We hope we can finish it and signal as quickly as doable.

The European Union is changing into an more and more essential companion for Armenia and we’re discussing different codecs of cooperation, inside which lively work will probably be achieved on safety and protection points. The safety sphere is new to our agenda. We are discussing strengthening this space which is able to open up new prospects for cooperation Armenia-EU.

Regarding the financial ties, in fact we need to be nearer to the European Union economically, however on the opposite facet we need to be economically nearer with our regional nations as properly, as a result of sadly, from the start of our independence, we had been in form of financial isolation, as a result of our borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan had been and are nonetheless closed.

To make change not solely in our area, but in addition globally by way of overcoming this provide chain shocks, our authorities has placed on the desk the challenge of Crossroads of Peace. It is about making our regional transport communications more practical and to create new transport communications not solely with Azerbaijan, however with Turkey as properly, to deepen our cooperation with Georgia, with Iran, however it is usually concerning the European Union, as a result of when this challenge is carried out, we may have new chain routes by way of Armenia to European Union.

On the opposite hand, we’re members of Eurasian Economic Union, we’ve an entry to an enormous Eurasian market. Of course, we perceive that we can’t be a part of each the EAEU and the EU on the similar time. It is clear that it is a level on which we must decide sooner or later. But it is rather essential that this determination should be made by the residents of the Republic of Armenia.

Currently, our strategy is step-by-step, and our alignment with the EU follows this narrative. It is a fancy course of with varied levels, and at this level, the query of what’s appropriate or incompatible isn’t on our agenda.”

Given Azerbaijan’s latest claims about “Western Azerbaijan” and the “Zangezur Corridor,” together with previous conflicts, what safety measures is Armenia taking to guard its territory? Considering the circumstances, how does Yerevan foresee the peace course of unfolding, and what concrete ensures are you able to give regarding Armenia’s sovereignty contemplating Baku’s aggressive previous and present statements?

The expression “Zangezur Corridor” is meaningless and unacceptable to us.  The indisputable fact that such an expression is used, within the Republic of Armenia it’s perceived as a territorial declare in opposition to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia.We are in favor of opening regional communications, to begin with we’re enthusiastic about opening regional communications, as in truth we’re those who’re underneath blockade greater than 30 years. We have 4 borders, two of that are utterly closed. And this reality in itself reveals how a lot we want and are enthusiastic about opening regional communications.

We declared that we’re prepared to supply a connection between the western areas of Azerbaijan and the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan by way of our territory which is expressed in our challenge “Crossroads of Peace”. For us this agenda is included within the normal agenda of opening regional communications which signifies that Armenia and Azerbaijan should mutually open communications for one another, each exterior and inner, that’s, from Armenia to Armenia by way of the territory of Azerbaijan, and from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan by way of the territory of Armenia. What we suggest is that every one communications that we’ll open within the area should function underneath the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the nations they traverse.

The so-called “Western Azerbaijan” narrative is a fabricated idea, developed by Azerbaijan to generate claims in opposition to the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia. It has neither historic nor authorized foundation and serves a single objective: to legitimize the territorial claims in opposition to 60% of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, together with its capital Yerevan. Although Azerbaijan tries to current this concern underneath the quilt of human rights, the very use of the synthetic time period of “Western Azerbaijan” proves that the issues raised on this context don’t have anything to do with humanitarian considerations. These territorial claims are even mirrored within the founding paperwork of the so-called “organization” artificially created for that objective, the identify of which itself refutes the thesis of a peaceable return.

At the identical time, we acknowledge that earlier than the anti-Armenian pogroms in Sumgait, Baku and different Armenian-populated cities of Azerbaijan, which began in 1988, an Azerbaijani minority was additionally residing in Armenia as a part of Armenian society. However, after the Sumgait pogroms, the Azerbaijanis, who voluntarily left for Azerbaijan, managed to promote or trade their property or obtain compensation from the Armenian authorities. Unfortunately, the identical can’t be mentioned for the destiny of Armenians residing in Azerbaijan—in Baku, Sumgait, and different locations, the place massacres and compelled displacement of Armenians happened. The most up-to-date manifestation of this in our area was witnessed within the fall of 2023, when over 115,000 Armenians had been compelled to flee Nagorno-Karabakh subjected to ethnic cleaning.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Italy, H.E. Vladimir Karapetyan, throughout his assembly with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

In your opinion what’s the position of Italy in reaching peace in your area? What latest developments would you point out in relations between Armenia and Italy?

“The Armenian-Italian interstate relations are primarily based on wealthy and historic traditions of friendship between our peoples and customary values that we share. Initially primarily based on historic Christian traditions, at present it additional unfold to the democratic path that our states pursue.

Italy has pursuits in our area, in fact it additionally primarily based to the financial sphere and enterprise. We witness that the involvement of Italy in our area is progressively rising and Italy performs an lively position within the course of of creating stability and peace within the area. One of the proves of that is the adoption by the Italian Senate in February 2025 of the Motion concerning the initiatives selling the peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan which is a results of, because it appeared from right here, a consensus between the Italian authorities and the Senate. The decision particularly calls the Italian authorities to advertise diplomatic actions aimed on the peace course of between Armenia and Azerbaijan, assist dialogue between the 2 nations and take measures to ascertain balanced financial relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We have already seen the primary optimistic outcomes of this Motion: it’s the creation of the place of Special Envoy for the South Caucasus inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy. We in Armenia had been blissful to host  H.E. Ambassador Amaduzzi, Special Envoy, with Senator Scalfarotto who is without doubt one of the major initiators of the Motion in Armenia, as they participated on the second version of Yerevan Dialogue Conference.

As for the financial relations between Armenia and Italy, the curiosity of Italian entrepreneurs in Armenia is rising, the investments made in the newest interval seek advice from the textile, ceramic, infrastructure and vitality sectors. Italy is our second largest commerce companion within the European Union. At the identical time we see that there’s a large potential that isn’t used and on this regard we’ve to work loads for activating and giving a lift to our financial cooperation.

Our cultural interactions have deep historic roots: the primary ebook printed within the Armenian language was revealed in Venice in 1512. For Christian Armenians it’s of immense worth that the relics of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the primary Patriarch, the Catolicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, are preserved within the church buildings of San Gregorio Armeno in Naples and Nardò.

One of an important facilities of the revival of Armenian tradition in fashionable occasions is the island of San Lazzaro in Venice, the place the Congregation of the Mechitarist Fathers has existed for nearly three centuries. It is a vital heart of Armenology, which has made its invaluable contribution to the enrichment of the Armenian and world scientific and cultural heritage. In this regard, Italy hosts the biggest variety of Armenology facilities on the earth.

These are only a few of many examples on which our huge cooperation and sympathy are primarily based on. Daily we hear and if there are potentialities, take part in varied cultural occasions – being it version of the brand new ebook, translation of Armenian authors to Italian, live performance and exhibitions with participation of Armenian artists, or screening of  Armenian cinema. We know that Italian cultural occasions in Armenia are additionally very frequent and standard and we’ll proceed to work with devotion in bringing our folkss nearer.”

Considering Armenia’s defence cooperation plan with Italy, how does Yerevan intend to steadiness its shifting safety posture amid lowered CSTO engagement and protracted threats alongside its border with Azerbaijan?

“Armenia has principally frozen its participation within the Collective Security Treaty Organization for not fulfilling its safety obligations in the direction of Armenia in 2021 and 2022 when Azerbaijan attacked our territory.

Currently, we develop relations with completely different nations, together with France, India, Germany, China, Greece and others within the sphere of army cooperation with the goal to diversify this area and to scale back our whole dependence from one nation. We imagine that this coverage that we adopted largely after the latest developments in our area will make sure the safety surroundings for our nation.

As I already talked about, the safety and protection sphere is new in Armenia-European Union agenda. We connect nice significance to the actions of the European Civilian Mission in Armenia within the context of guaranteeing peace and stability within the area. The operation of the European mission is an important restraining instrument for guaranteeing comparatively secure state of affairs on the border.  In this regard, we’re grateful to the European Union, its members, together with Italy for supporting this initiative and taking part in it.

The state border delimitation course of is one other measure aimed toward guaranteeing safety and stability within the area. Majority of our companions, together with the European Union, welcomed the border delimitation technique of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan primarily based on the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration as a basic precept.

As for the creating the defence cooperation with Italy, our ministries of defence are in fixed contact discussing the probabilities of deepening cooperation on this sphere.”

What are the home political implications of Armenia’s constitutional reform aimed toward facilitating a peace settlement with Azerbaijan, particularly regarding public belief and opposition narratives?

“As you recognize, Armenia and Azerbaijan declared concerning the finalizing the textual content of Peace Agreement. At the identical time Azerbaijan has offered preconditions for the signing of the peace deal which from our perspective are synthetic.

One of them is the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group buildings. The second precondition is the change of Armenia’s Constitution, the preamble of which references Armenia’s Declaration of Independence signed in August 1990.

The agenda for the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group was acceptable to Armenia. At the identical time we need to ensure that Azerbaijan doesn’t intend to shut the battle state of affairs on its territory and export it to the territory of Armenia. Why do we’ve this concern? Because you recognize that, sadly, in recent times, Azerbaijan has begun to name roughly 60% of the sovereign territory of Armenia so-called “Western Azerbaijan”.

So, we recommend to signal the peace settlement and in parallel to use to the OSCE on the difficulty of dissolving the buildings of the Minsk Group, i.e. to have two paperwork on the desk and signal them concurrently, on the similar time, in the identical place.

As for the Armenian Constitution, our Constitution doesn’t include any territorial claims in opposition to Azerbaijan. However, bearing in mind the place of Azerbaijan, we’ve proposed a really constructive and sensible answer: based on the laws of Armenia, after signing the peace settlement, it should be submitted to the Constitutional Court of Armenia. If the Constitutional Court decides that the settlement is totally compliant with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, and we’re completely satisfied that it’s, all of the considerations of Azerbaijan concerning our Constitution will probably be legally addressed. In the case of contradiction between the norms of ratified worldwide treaties and people of home legal guidelines, the norms of the worldwide treaty shall prevail.

Thus, the Peace Agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan will purchase superior authorized drive over the legal guidelines of the Republic of Armenia and different normative authorized acts as soon as it’s ratified by the Parliament. However, if the Court decides that the textual content of the settlement doesn’t adjust to the Armenian Constitution, then the federal government of Armenia may have the truth on the bottom it ought to tackle, together with by way of contemplating the constitutional amendments, if vital. Therefore, if Azerbaijan is honest in its considerations concerning the Constitution of Armenia, the best and most simple approach to resolve them is to signal the settlement as quickly as doable. And our name to worldwide companions is following: encourage Azerbaijan to signal the peace settlement with out additional delays, which is able to accordingly tackle, dispel and resolve all doable considerations raised by each Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Despite all of the arguments, all of the provocations, we stay totally dedicated to the peace course of and are able to assume our share of accountability for having lasting and secure peace in our area.”

• 

  SpecialEurasia Co-Founder & Managing Director. She is an International affairs specialist, enterprise guide and political analyst who has supported non-public and public establishments in decision-making by offering reviews, danger assessments, and consultancy. Due to her work and reporting actions, she has travelled in Europe, the Middle East, South-East Asia and the post-Soviet area assessing the home dynamic and conditions and making a community of native contacts. She can be the Director of the Energy & Engineering Department of CeSEM – Centro Studi Eurasia Mediterraneo and the Project Manager of Persian Files. Previously, she labored as an Associate Director at ASRIE Analytica. She speaks Italian, English, German, Russian and Arabic. She co-authored the ebook Conflitto in Ucraina: rischio geopolitico, propaganda jihadista e minaccia per l’Europa (Enigma Edizioni 2022).

  Read the writer’s reviews

  
  

You Might Also Like

Uncover important updates within the Crypto area. This article explains: “Armenia’s Foreign Policy: Interview with Vladimir Karapetyan”.

• Blockchain & Crypto Trends — keep forward with international adoption, tech shifts & improvements
• DeFi & Web3 Innovations — discover the way forward for finance and web decentralization
• NFT, Gaming & Metaverse — dive into digital economies and digital asset revolutions
• AI & Blockchain Integration — uncover how AI enhances trustless blockchain ecosystems
• Regulations & Global Tech — comply with legal guidelines, compliance, and international tech coverage impacts
• Tokenomics & Coin Analysis — decode challenge worth, utility, and investor metrics
• Security & Blockchain Hacks — shield your crypto with risk and exploit insights
• Mining & Validator Ecosystem — find out about staking, block rewards, and consensus

More from the SFB Ecosystem

• Explore BlockTrend for knowledgeable takes on blockchain tendencies & developments
• Visit CryptoCoil for stay market knowledge, altcoin insights & sentiment monitoring
• Check i-News for recent international crypto headlines & breaking tales
• Claim & earn with trusted drops on i-Coin — your faucet & incomes hub
• Learn crypto the sensible approach on i-VIP — sensible tutorials, guides & suggestions for learners
• Discover curated crypto insights on SFBNEWS — automated crypto updates & knowledgeable curation

[ad_3]

Source & Attribution

This article is customized from www.specialeurasia.com. We’ve restructured and rewritten the content material for a broader viewers with improved readability and search engine optimisation formatting.

Continue Your Crypto Journey

Read extra from BLOCKTREND for every day crypto updates.