“It is time for us to finally become realistic about the international community.” Davit Babayan

Davit Babayan, Advisor on foreign relations, to 168.am: “It is time for us to finally become realistic about the international community. What is that international community?” Nov. 2, 2020 (Unofficial translation)

“Iran, as always, shows a balanced approach which one can understand as the result of the uniqueness of Iran. That country is multinational, of course, with serious problems there as well. That is why it would be wrong if we expected Iran to stand up and pursue an openly pro-Armenian policy. That is not the case, Iran has its own interests. “But it is natural that Pan-Turkism is one of the biggest dangers for Iran. Besides, it is one of the targets of extremist Muslims, as being a Shiite country, it is considered a hostile country for other Muslims,” he told 168.am.

According to Davit Babayan, all the above-mentioned circumstances should be taken into account and it should be understood what policy Iran pursues. In the context of all this, it is obvious that official Tehran is taking very predictable, balanced steps, which the Armenian side highly appreciates.

“It is time for us to be finally realistic about the international community, what is that international community?” The international community is a very diverse and general category, we should not pin our hopes on this or that organization or representative of an international organization. That is why we say that there must be radical changes in the foreign policy concept. Turkey is a NATO member country that attacked us. “Now, is NATO aware of this? What was the reaction? Let us note that NATO congratulated Turkey on its Independence Day. That naivety is too much! Being good with them, taking pictures with them, why? Now, when we are in a fateful day, how many of them actually came and supported us?” “Our biggest supporter is brotherly Russia with its opportunities,” Davit Babayan stressed.

It should be reminded that on October 5, the official representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh stated that Tehran considers unacceptable any attack on its territory by the conflicting countries in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry quoted what the spokesman then was saying: “We declare that any attack by the conflicting countries on our territory is unacceptable, and we strongly call on the parties to exercise the necessary caution in this regard.”

Khatibzadeh stressed that “the principle of non-attack on civilians must be respected.”

“It is necessary to stop the clashes and start a real dialogue. Tehran is ready to provide the necessary assistance to achieve these goals,” he said.

Days after this announcement, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Yerevan on October 29, and was received by RA Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister presented his country’s approach to overcoming the situation and establishing a ceasefire. In this context, the Armenian Foreign Minister noted that Iran’s approaches to the Artsakh issue will be thoroughly studied.

The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister also visited Ankara, Baku, and Moscow.