Russia used a threat of use of force
Says former RA foreign affairs minister Alexander Arzumanyan
-Mr. Arzumanyan, what is your opinion about the joint statement of the presidents of Russia Vladimir Putin and Armenia Serzh Sargsyan about the intention to join the Eurasian Union? Was this statement expected?
-First, let me say that I am familiar with only the official documents that were circulated today and am looking forward to explanations and clarifications (the interview took place on September 3 – A.S.). No, this cannot be considered an expected development. This was surprising and confusing because up until yesterday the Armenian authorities would state that Armenia didn’t have a direct border with Russia. What happened now? Was a new border discovered? This is a decision that shouldn’t be made by one person but should originate as a result of joint public discussions and hearings. Armenia chose this path and had been moving in that direction for 20 years. European integration was one of the priorities of our foreign policy. The government stated that it would sign the EU association pact. This event was held in parallel with the statement of the Republican faction chair Galust Sahakyan’s statement. This gives us grounds to assume the use of force and pressure. Armenia’s membership to the Customs Union is unacceptable because it contradicts the Armenian constitution and essentially limits our sovereignty because by becoming a member of this Union we submit a significant part of our state functions to a superior body – the Customs Union. This is a matter that should be discussed for a long time. Lots of opinions were heard in this regard but I should remind our partner Russia that no Union exists for a long time in the conditions of threat and pressure. And sooner or later, either this government or the next one, will revise this decision because in terms of international affairs it is not acceptable to speak in a language of pressure, especially when you consider this country your foreign partner. Russia today uses a language of threat in relation to Ukraine and Moldova. And in the case of Georgia we remember the war. We don’t know what we will be facing soon. We are facing new developments now. This is the reason why we should expect official explanations and clarifications. Ultimately, the government should give us clear reasons. Besides, we should expect the reaction of our European partners. The EU has numerously mentioned that the Association Pact and the Eurasian Pact are not compatible. I am not saying that we shouldn’t cooperate with the member states of the Eurasian Union or the CIS. We should merely follow the international norms of trade. We shouldn’t contradict our principles.
-Can the motivation be considered a final decision in diplomacy?
-No, it is not a final decision at all. This is not a totalitarian country for us to follow the decision of one leader. We should discuss this matter with the public. In the meantime, we should understand that knowing our unique relations with Russia, the fact that we are a member of the Collective Security Pact, we couldn’t ignore the interests of Russia. However, we shouldn’t sacrifice our national interests either. We could have stated that Armenia is looking forward to deepening relations with its strategic partner Russia and that this process doesn’t mean that we are deteriorating our relations with the CIS or Russia in particular. This was something like an election for us. We should have chosen either the European route or the Eurasian. By joining the Union we commit to our servitude to stay loyal to Russia and its foreign policy directions.
-Do you mean that this statement might hinder the process of the EU Association Pact?
-I wouldn’t like to speak on behalf of our European partners. Let’s wait for their response. Of course, I have my personal opinion and am sure that these two processes are not compatible and we should expect some negative reaction from Brussels. But as it’s known the high-rank officials from Europe have numerously spoken about this. A lot of famous economists have spoken about this. Quite recently our Prime Minister also spoke about this. The deputy foreign affairs minister a few days ago also stated that Armenia doesn’t have a general border with Russia and that the membership to this structure would be impossible.
-The pan-Russian experts would always claim that Armenia’s membership to the Eurasian Union was impossible because of the absence of a border. Were they doing this on purpose to confuse the society?
-As I personally am not a part of the government I am not well aware of the processes. Russia policies in relation to the west have recently been so hostile that we shouldn’t have expected any good surprises. Perhaps our generation won’t be able to know what exactly they have agreed upon or what has been discussed but I assure that the threat of the use of force was applied. It’s hard to say whether these threats were of economic character or political.
-By putting aside the necessity of discussing this decision with the public did Serzh Sargsyan have any other alternative other than joining the Eurasian Union?
-First let me say that regardless of what you would call this policy – complimentary or any other term Armenia being a small country is determined to conduct a multi-vector policy. We should have equally good relations with Iran, Russia, EU and US. And if you are transparent in your relations and are a reliable partner are able to explain your interests and not take steps that contradict the interests of your partners. Perhaps this is the reason that the countries, which have very serious conflict of interest with Iran apply sanctions against it. But in the meantime they accept we should have normal relations with the latter. The same should be with Russia. The normal friendly relations should continue. But now it’s the time when we should pick one of these vectors. And we have made this choice during the independence referendum, as a result of which we declared that Armenia is a pro-European state and is committed to European values. We have taken steps in that directions and doesn’t matter if those were good or bad but we have brought the process to its logical next phase and that is the EU Association Pact. During this period we should have been able to explain in a transparent way to all of our partners that this is not directed against any other third country and that we have mutual obligations to Russia having been a member to the Collective Security Pact. As a result of uncertainty everybody will lose the game. And Russia cannot think that it has a reliable partner here because as I said before mandatory partnership cannot have a long life. The only problematic thing is that Russia is cutting deals with our lifetime enemy. Thus there was a serious wrinkle in the Armenian-Russian relations, which instead of being resolved put us in a vassal status. The following processes will depend on the reactions of the societies and politicians. There is only one thing that can make the Customs Union acceptable to me and that is if Nagorno Karabakh becomes a full member of the Union as a sovereign autonomous state. First, it should have been the NKR to drive us closer to this process. Is Russia ready to recognize the NKR as a sovereign state? That is the question.
-Seemingly, the NKR conflict has been touched upon during the negotiation process.
-Yes, up until now there was one information in the media, according to which Kazakhstan is totally against the appearance of the NKR in the Union because Kazakhstan considers the NKR as an Azerbaijani territory. Kazakhstan has always hindered our membership to the Union. But what has changed during several hours? I don’t know. The authorities have to inform the public.
-Mr. Arzumanyan, do you find it possible that Armenia will have an incomplete cooperation with the Customs Union?
-I think that Armenia should sign the Association Pact and should continue its integration with the European structures and the Customs Union and in the meantime be able to correctly orient between the Eurasian and European Unions. But I rule out a complete membership because it first contradicts the Association Pact and secondly, it contradicts our constitution.
-EU commissions Stephen Fulen stated in Yerevan, “the Association Pact cannot any negative impact on the traditional ties of Armenia with Russia.” According to you, was this just a diplomatic statement?
-I am really sorry that we put Armenia in a situation when we have to wait and see what foreign officials predict or say about us. We should move forward by relying on the national interest. I think the national interest of Armenia will best be served by integrating with the European Union. All these statesmen who are making these statements, know that Armenia has appear in a difficult situation by having an unpredictable neighbor. They shouldn’t say what we should do but should only give evaluation. Those are clubs and they should say you can either join this club or not. The question is not whether we made the right choice or not. They should just tell us to make our own choice. We are making these decisions for our coming generations. I don’t think the EU will consider is a reliable partner. We have behaved as an unreliable partner. The Association Pact may be pre-signed not in Vilnius in November but let’s say in Brussels on January 6.
Interviewed by Aram Sargsyan
