In its foreign policy Armenia has always prioritized relations with Russia. Recently among the priorities has become the normalization of relations with Turkey. It seems that Turkey doesn’t rush to benefit from this desire. Georgia is also following this process with interest. This neighboring country of Armenia has numerously showed that Armenia doesn’t lead the list of its top friend-countries. The best evidence of that is both the difficulties created on transit roads and the examples of assimilation of our churches as well as cases of humiliation of the rights of Georgian-Armenians. The candidate of science of history, the president of Prospectus political and regional research center Tamara Vardanyan doesn’t consider the political course of Armenia in relation to Georgia very literate.
– In the process of the NKR conflict Georgia periodically acts on behalf of Azerbaijan (At any relevant occasion the Georgian President Sahakashvilli states that the conflict must be resolved in the framework of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan). As a response Armenia keeps silence. In general how adequate is the politics of Armenia in relation to Georgia?
– The foreign policy of Armenia and especially in relation to Georgia is quite incomplete. The Armenian side has a quite neutral attitude because it signifies the security of transit roads. This approach is wrong. When the top level of government and research institutes announce that they signify the security of transit roads they immediately appear in a decoy. In order to reach a horizontal and equal level of relations with Georgia Armenia should revise its priorities of foreign policy and state that they signify the conditions of Georgian-Armenians and the issue of their security.
– But it is the issue of the Georgian-Armenians that make our government be neutral, isn’t it?
– Yes. But this neutral attitude and incorrect tactics are not only profitable in the political meaning but also trample our national dignity. And if the Armenians side continuously brings up the issues of every single Armenian living in Georgia by emphasizing that they signify the security by pointing out the issues, which exist in Georgia in relation to national minorities in that case the Georgian side will have to recede and consider the opinions and demands of the Armenian side. It is virtually obvious that Georgia doesn’t comply with its obligations to provide equal conditions for national minorities. And instead the Georgian side continuously claims that it is clung to European values. Armenia can raise these unsolved issues not only to the authorities of Georgia but also from the floor of the PACE. We should revise our tactics step by step and present a new vision for the Armenia-Georgia relations. We should finally understand that if we re trampling our national dignity in the foreign policy we cannot register any success in any front.
– The issues of Javakhk Armenians continue remaining unsolved. Our church doesn’t have a legal status and the new generation doesn’t receive education in Armenians. As a matter of fact, Georgia is conducting a policy of pressuring ethnical and religions minorities and this is done without resistance from the Armenian government. Maybe I am mistaken but with this type of logic the Georgian-Armenians will either be assimilated or become alienated from its historic roots.
– We shouldn’t be shocked by this policy of Georgia. Georgia is a multi-nation state and the Georgian elite perfectly understand that in order for the state to become developed it should be turned maximally uni-ethnical. By the way, although we don’t realize this but the uni-ethnical composition of the Armenian nation is a pretty good strategic resource and guarantee of security.
– In fact, ethnical and religious minorities are considered bombs of slow action in any state. Those may be used by foreign forces and become a reason of internal insurgences…
– It is so. And the Georgian elite, especially the nationalistic circles think that Georgia should strive for uni-ethnic nation. This is a well-known mechanism of self-defense.
– On the other hand, the 5-day Russian-Georgian war has showed that the reflex of self-defense hay cause loss of territories.
– Back in the day academician A. Sakharov named Georgia a “mini-empire.” One of the main directions of the multi-nation state is the annihilation of titled nations. Otherwise they face the hazard of losing territories. It is clear that no state wishes to lose territories as territories are serious strategic resources. Last year when I was participating in an international conference by the invitation of the state university of Georgia after Javakhishvili many of them were claiming that Georgia will never give up Abkhazia after having the precedent of the 5-day war in Ossetia. They were even mentioning that they might agree with the loss of South Ossetia but they will never yield Abkhazia as without Abkhazia Georgia is not Georgia any more. If you think that one day Georgia is going to realize that it has made mistakes in relation to ethnic minorities then I should say that this day will never come. The main foreign resource of Georgia is its geographic location, transit roads but one of the main internal resources is the uni-ethnical nation, which will be based on a general and common national identity. Now this identity doesn’t exist in Georgia. This is a serious issue for any state.
– In Georgia the issue of violation of the rights of Azerbaijanis is also an issue. And in this context there is certain tension in the Georgian-Armenian relations.
– It is true but the case with Azerbaijanis is a little different. Azerbaijan is trying to conduct certain programs in the areas of Georgia populated by Azerbaijanis. The main purpose of these programs is to prevent the migration of Azerbaijanis from Kvemo-Kartli. The Armenian side is pretty passive in this regard. And we don’t initiate anything to prevent the migration of Georgian-Armenians or Javakhk Armenians from Georgia.
– Is there any official statistics on migration? As much as I know there is certain level of migration and not to Armenia but to a third country.
– There is migration. Many Armenians have migrated from Georgia due to social-economic difficulties of the 90s, the incorrect policy of Gamsakhurdia and other issues. When this issue is being discussed the Georgians says that during that period even Georgians have migrated from Georgia. Yes, it was so but as for Armenians the community has suffered qualitatively because mostly the elite migrated. As a result, among the Georgians there is an opinion that Armenians are mostly hairdressers and taxi drivers. This really offends our national dignity. And mostly migration is directed to third countries – Russia, Europe and the US.
– It turns out that despite the fact that the Georgian-Armenians are doing their best to maintain their language, religion, identity but they encounter the resistance of the Georgian authorities. On the other hand, Armenia doesn’t do anything much either, which frustrates the Georgian-Armenians. In one of your articles you have mentioned that Armenians even change their roots and religion.
– The Javakhk Armenians have a powerful weapon due to which they have remained so far. They live in the territory of the historical fatherland. They are not Diaspora. But the way, it is quite difficult to love in Javakhk. The Georgian ethnos cannot survive in such inclement climatic conditions. So these are the two main factors why we haven’t lost Javakhk in so many years.
– The idea of the historic fatherland is a pleasant idea but not a guarantee for a peaceful life. The example of that is Turkey.
– We should realize that there are countries in the world, where Armenians cannot survive. Among these countries are Turkey and Azerbaijan. No Armenian is left in Azerbaijan. In Turkey as well, sooner or later Armenians will be assimilated or will leave. Unfortunately the destiny of the Georgian-Armenians is also similar. They should either be assimilated or abandon.
– What changes are necessary in the foreign policy agenda of Armenia to save the Georgian-Armenian community from assimilation if it’s not too late now?
– There have been many mistakes. Let me mention only the last one. In the context of the Armenian-Turkish protocols our political elite has realized that the rapprochement of relations with Turkey is inevitably improving. Via mass media make speeches these so-called experts, who laud the process and only recently these people have started to say that “maybe they were mistaken” or that “the ones, who don’t make mistakes are the ones, who don’t do anything.” They naively believed that Turks would open the border and that the Georgians are not important any more. I was totally against organizing student protests and pickets against the Georgians. The anti-Georgian policy is not right. If the relations with one neighbor are not normalized how can we openly deteriorate relations with the other neighbor? You know, this is very infantile. This is not diplomacy. This is absolute absence of diplomacy. The Georgians are already waiting fro the failure of this process so that they’d remind us of what we have done. This is an extremely short-sighted policy. It is wrong to put the Georgians on the same scale with Turks. The Georgians don’t have any plans to destroy Armenia (at least in the near future). But isn’t it clear that this is the goal or Turkey and Azerbaijan? How could be jump in the lap of Turkey and then get the refusal?