Ambassador: Iran cannot be against Armenia`s efforts to strengthen its own economic sustainability and solve Artsakh refugees` problems
ArmInfo.The Armenian authorities assured us that the meeting in Brussels was purely economic. Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani stated on April 16 at a press conference in Yerevan in response to a request to comment on the Armenia-US-EU meeting in Brussels on April 5.
The Ambassador noted that Tehran discussed this meeting with official Yerevan. "Armenian authorities assured us that the Brussels meeting was purely economic, and was also aimed at obtaining assistance in resolving the humanitarian issues of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian authorities informed us that this meeting was not directed against any third country," the diplomat added.
He emphasized that Iran cannot be against Armenia's efforts to strengthen its own economic sustainability and solve the problems of refugees from Artsakh. "This is the sovereign right of Armenia. Our concern is that Armenia and the South Caucasus do not turn into an arena of geopolitical clashes or that Yerevan develops foreign policy ties at the expense of third countries. In Yerevan, we were assured that the diversification of foreign policy relations is not directed against Armenia-Iran relations," Sobhani said, noting that good-neighbourly, strategic relations have developed between Armenia and Iran.
On April 5, a Pashinyan-Blinken-von der Leyen meeting took place in Brussels. At the beginning of the negotiations, in particular, the President of the European Commission announced that Brussels would provide Armenia with an additional 270 million euros of assistance over the next four years in order to support small and medium-sized businesses, as well as infrastructure development. The US Secretary of State also announced additional assistance of $65 million. The Prime Minister of Armenia expressed gratitude for this ongoing commitment and emphasized that Armenia is ready to continue reforms and close relations with the West.