ArmInfo. The geopolitical nuances in the Transcaucasus will be very significant, and Iran, of course, does not want to miss its particular benefit. This is how the Russian international political scientist Sergei Markedonov commented on yesterday's visit of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to Tehran.
He stated that on the eve of the Moscow ministerial for the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, the Armenian Foreign Minister visited Tehran, where he was honored with a reception by the President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, respectively, Ebrahim Raisi and Amir Abdollahian.
At the same time, he stated that this visit was somehow ignored in the thick mass of publications about the upcoming talks in the Russian capital. But in vain!
"Why the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry in Tehran is clear! Yerevan is desperately trying to convey its "truth" to all interested parties. And these attempts do not fit into the Procrustean bed of theories that the confrontation between Russia and the West is the leading factor in the Caucasus. Everything is much more complicated.
But to what extent is the Iranian factor important for the Caucasus region? If you read the leading experts from the Islamic Republic on this topic, then a kind of leitmotif of their texts and comments will be the following: Transcaucasia was not among the most important priorities of Tehran after the collapse of the USSR, much has been lost. Russia and Turkey took "command heights", not always taking into account Iranian reasons. However, today official Tehran intends to become more active in this part of Eurasia," Markedonov said.
The Russian expert stated that many authors are trying to build (mostly speculatively) some "blocs" in the Caucasus, however, they are not very successful.
"Iran, of course, is not pro-Western. From the very beginning of the 1990s, it has consistently opposed the presence of "out-of-regional players" in the Transcaucasus. But what is also important is how Tehran understands the "collective West." For it, this is not only the United States and the EU, but to no lesser extent Turkey and Israel. Meanwhile, these two states are the main military-political partners of Azerbaijan.
Armament, raising the technological level of the army, cooperation of special services - these are the menu of the main "dishes" that do not cause "deep satisfaction" in Iran. Does Tehran know about Turkey's strategic autonomy, its friction with the US and the EU? Of course, they know, but they give an assessment objectively. After all, the main roads from Ankara and Tel Aviv / Jerusalem lead to Washington, and relations between Israel and Turkey are experiencing a new "thaw", as evidenced by the upcoming meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Recep Tayyip Erdogan," the Russian expert stated.
At the same time, Markedonov stated that Iran cannot be considered pro-Russian either. In this vein, he quoted from an article of well-known Iranian expert Vali Kaleji: " Russia's relations with Israel and the need to maintain economic ties and transit opportunities with Azerbaijan and Turkey after the war in Ukraine forced Moscow to take a flexible approach to the events in the South Caucasus, which is not in favor of Iran."
"And therefore, in his opinion," despite some similarities in the approaches of Iran and Russia to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tehran and Moscow have diverged in recent years regarding the Zangezur corridor, its possible consequences for the border of Iran with Armenia and Israel's relations with Azerbaijan.
Of course, no one canceled the "foreign policy is a continuation of domestic policy" rule. Iran is a multicomponent society, and the Turkic element in this "unity in diversity" is very numerous. And hence the increased attention to any manifestations of the ideas of "Turkic solidarity" or "unity of the Azerbaijani people." Moreover, such approaches have their sympathizers not only in the Caucasus, but also in DC," he continued.
Based on the foregoing, Markedonov believes that the most likely prospect for the Caucasus will not be a "bloc system" or a remake of the Cold War, but a situational rapprochement, not an alliance, but "fellow travel".
"The three Eurasian giants (Russia, Turkey and Iran) have "some coincidences" and some "discrepancies". All three do not want the complete dominance of each of this "Eurasian trio" and, in principle, do not want (Turkey in some ways) the total domination of the West. The West has less interest in the Caucasus region than in the European part of the former USSR (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus). Therefore, the geopolitical nuance in Transcaucasia will be very significant. And Iran, of course, does not want to miss its particular benefit," the Russian expert summed up