Politician Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan expressed his opinions about the regional conflicts going on at the “Pastark” club on October 25.
While discussing the increasing tense relations between Russia and Georgia, the politician said that Armenians shouldn’t really focus on that because Georgia will always be Armenia’s friend and Russia will remain the ally.
“We’re always going to live side-by-side. By choosing which side to support, Armenia is becoming vulnerable for Russia and Georgia,” said L. Melik Shahnazaryan.
He said that Armenia and Belarus have already mentioned their role on the Russian-Georgian conflict and have proposed becoming an intermediary for the two countries. However, according to the politician, this can only happen based on the desire of Russia and Georgia. Melik-Shahnazaryan is of the opinion that Armenia will feel the negative consequences of the continuation of Georgia’s blockade despite Armenia’s role on the issue. He is optimistic towards Armenian-Russian relations and believes that they won’t get tense. However, he did criticize Armenian presses in expressing either pro-Russian or pro-Georgian views.
“Armenia should have a moral role on the Russian-Georgian relations, try to easen the tension; we Armenians should simply limit ourselves to worrying over our national interests,” says Melik-Shahnazaryan. He also worries over which forces will replace the Russian forces in Javakhk.
“I also worry over the plans to have Georgia join NATO. If the Turkish NATO forces are going to be allocated in Javakhk, that means that the Armenian forces have to get there first,” said the politician, adding that he is not in favor of war at all. He is certain that Armenians will start leaving Javakhk as soon as the Turkish NATO forces are allocated in Javakhk and the Armenian voluntaries will stand up and fight for the Javakhk-Armenians’ interests.
“If there are any countries that are ready to go to war for certain citizens, then we have many more reasons to fight and defend the Armenians of Javakhk. Today, Azerbaijan is doing that by participating in the Azerbaijani political/economical life of Quemo Cartli,” said L. Melik-Shahnazaryan and considered that the right politics.
In regard to the Karabakh conflict, the politician said that there will come a time when the OSCE Minsk Group, Armenia and Azerbaijan will understand and be forced to come face-to-face with the Karabakh conflict. He also believes that Europe and the OSCE Minsk Group are not as interested in the resolution of the Karabakh conflict as they are in keeping the status-quo so as not to restart military operations. According to Melik-Shahnazaryan, Europe is now “ready to get a new attack” by the means of oil price inflation and other processes going on.
L. Melik-Shahnaaryan also touched upon the recent visit of French President Jacques Chirac to Armenia and French-Armenian ties.
Not only was Chirac’s visit unprecedented, but also the cordial reception by the authorities and the Armenian people. I don’t think that J. Chirac has ever been welcomed that cordially in any other country,” said the politician, considering that official visit as “one of the achievements of Armenia’s foreign politics”, because right after this visit, the French parliament passed a bill on the penalty for denying the Armenian Genocide in France. Although he considers this a positive step taken by France, however he believes that this was a “means of confession for the sin” by the superpower of Europe.
“We forget that based on the Berlin Convention of 1877, France had guaranteed the security of the Armenians of Western Armenia. Only 15 years after that did the massacres and deportations begin. It’s obvious that France feels some guilt for what happened. Condemning the Armenian Genocide is an honor for a country like France and that is also a way of confessing the sin,” says L. Melik-Shahnazaryan. In his opinion, if the bill passes as a law, Armenia will be secure from the threats made by Turkey and the West.
As for the role that France plays in the Southern Caucasus region, according to the politician, France understands that it has “come late to the scene” because Russia, Iran, Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union are already present. L. Melik-Shahnazaryan thinks that France merely has economic interests in the Southern Caucasus region.