Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The foreign policy of Armenia has been turned exclusively to the West in recent years. Among the five states of Central Asia, Armenia has embassies only in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, in the Benelux, Armenia has embassies both in Belgium and the Netherlands.
In the context of providing a more balanced policy between the West and the East, the statement by President Serge Sargsyan addressed the leaders of the CSTO on supporting Armenia in the question of becoming an observer in the SCO is interesting. The status of an observer in the SCO will enable Armenia to develop economic relations with an organization which is focused on economic cooperation. Potentially Armenia is interested not only in the Russian market, but also the Chinese. Yerevan is unlikely to be a member of the SCO someday, but the status of an observer in the organization brings it toward the East. The step would be accepted positively by China and Iran, which has the status of an observer.
Analyzing the results of the Sochi summit in the CSTO, some experts draw the conclusion that Armenia stays aside from the discussion of improvement of the Tajik-Afghan border. The conclusions can be called hasty. The experts believe that relations with the CSTO and the CIS are important only from the point of view of the Armenian-Russian relations. It is not so. When the NATO forces will be withdrawn from Afghanistan, the threat for Central Asia will grow and it will influence Armenia.
First of all, the South Caucasus and Central Asia are two geopolitically connected regions. If radical Islam penetrates to the countries of Central Asia, there is a danger of its penetration to the region of the South Caucasus. Along with terrorism, it requires many various parameters. including the fact that Afghan militants can come to the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Secondly, all countries of Central Asia have Armenian Diasporas. In Uzbekistan the Diaspora is large, in Kyrgyzstan it is small, but it doesn’t mean the problem of security of the Armenians is not acute for Yerevan. The situation which would be similar to the situation over Syrian compatriots should be prevented. The CSTO has political, military, economic opportunities for this, which could be used by Armenia and its allies someday.
Some Armenian media report that the sending of troops to Central Asia by Armenia is absolutely impossible. However, Armenia sent its troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. It can send them to the region of Central Asia, if it is necessary because security interests of the countries have much more common with interests of Yerevan than interests of Afghanistan and Iraq.
