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Armenian Foreign Policy Agenda for 2014-2015 Повестка Внешней

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Armenian Foreign Policy Agenda for 2014-2015 Повестка Внешней Armenian foreign policy agenda for 2014-2015 Повестка внешней политики Армении 2014-2015 гг. Yerevan - 2014 Ереван - 2014 1 UDC 327(479.25) Повестка внешней политики Армении 2014-2015 гг.: Анализ экспертов Аналитического центра по глобализации и региональному сотрудничеству (Ереван, Армения). – Ер., “Эдит Принт”, 2014 – 240 стр. This book is published by the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) with support of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. The views expressed in the book belong to the ACGRC experts and may differ from the official position of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Книга издана Аналитическим центром по глобализации и региональному сотрудничеству (АЦГРС) при поддержке Фонда им. Фридриха Эберта. Точка зрения, выраженная в данном издании, принадлежит экспертам АЦГРС и может не совпадать с официальной позицией Фонда им. Фридриха Эберта. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Analytical Centre on Globalization and Фонд им. Фридриха Эберта. Regional Cooperation www.fes.am Аналитический центр по глобализации и региональному сотрудничеству www.acgrc.am ISBN 978-9939-52-833-5 © ACGRC, 2013, www.acgrc.am 2 Armenian foreign policy agenda for 2014-2015 Table of contents Introduction .......................................................................................... 4 Policy recommendations for 2014-2015 Armenia in international organizations: UN, OSCE and CoE ........ 7 European and Euro-Atlantic integration/Relations with the EU and NATO/New situation in Armenian-EU ties in the framework of the Eastern Partnership Programme ...................................................... 19 Security and defense policy ............................................................... 36 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict .............................................................. 42 South Caucasus .................................................................................. 57 Energy, transport and communication security .............................. 63 Relations with Russia/Integration processes in the post-Soviet space/Eurasian Union ........................................................................ 70 Relations with the USA ...................................................................... 83 Relations with Turkey/Centennial of the Armenian genocide of 1915 in Ottoman Empire ............................................................................ 88 Relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran .................................... 99 Middle East ...................................................................................... 104 Ties to the Armenian Diaspora/Problems of Syrian Armenians.. 107 3 Introduction This volume is the third collection of articles on the topic of Armenian foreign policy authored by the experts of the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC). The first two volumes entitled “Armenian foreign policy agenda for 2009-2010” and “Armenian foreign policy agenda for 2011” had a remarkable feedback among Armenian as well as foreign experts and diplomats who urged us to continue publication of the present series. Certainly, during the recent five years, numerous transformations have occurred in the South Caucasus and the world which requires amendments in mapping the Armenian foreign policy. Thus for instance Turkey’s refusal to ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols and unsealing the Armenian-Turkish border significantly affected the conduct of the Armenian leadership which was compelled to freeze all contacts with Turkey on the official level. Political and military instability in the regions neighboring the South Caucasus (such as the Middle East, for instance) and the war in Syria where a palpable size of Armenian community lives, of course, have left a serious footprint in the decisions taken by Yerevan. The Russian hard-line policy in the post-soviet space and its open pressure on the Eastern Partnership member countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) brought about, unexpectedly to many, Armenia’s refusal of initialing the Association Agreement, whereas Ukraine stepped back from signing the Association Agreement with the EU, arranged within the Eastern Partnership program. Indeed, at the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow on 3 September 2013 it was announced on Armenia’s readiness to join the Customs Union and further integration into the planned Eurasian Union which made Armenia’s signing of the Agreement with the EU impossible. The ongoing fight against global terrorism, problems of the international community with the Iranian nuclear program, the instances 4 of conflict resolution in Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia – all these could not but influence the Armenian foreign policy. Let alone the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in an attempt of finding a resolution thereof the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met on 19 November 2013, following a two-year pause, while tensions go high on the Armenian- Azerbaijani border and the contact line between the Karabakh defense forces and the Azerbaijani army. All the aforementioned requires from the Armenian political elite and the authorities a specific attention to the country’s foreign policy, which needs to be of systematic and consistent nature (and not reactive and impulsive) as well as be more pro-active. It is also to be noted that some of the policy recommendations by the experts in the two previous volumes still remain relevant and this is why they were also included into this volume. In this volume, like in the previous ones, our main objective is to highlight some key points in the Armenian foreign policy agenda to attempt to formulate policy recommendations for those responsible for mapping and implementing the Armenian foreign policy. The volume includes some, to our viewpoint, currently important topics of the Armenian foreign policy. We do not argue by no means that the highlighted topics cover all the matters that are of relevance to the Armenian foreign policy. The team of ACGRC experts, who have an extensive experience of cooperation with international organizations, experts and diplomats, as well as participation to numerous international events held both in Armenia and abroad, have tried to select important topics concerning Armenian foreign policy as well as to convey their vision of resolving the issues facing the country. We express our gratitude to the renowned diplomats and international experts, Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini Switzerland, Dr. Joanna Fomina and Dr. Jacek Kucharczyk from Poland, who have contributed to our research with their valuable and remarks and suggestions. 5 The volume is published with the support of the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung and we are sincerely thankful to the Yerevan and South Caucasus offices of the organization. Stepan Grigoryan Chairman of the board of the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation. www.acgrc.am 6 Recommendations for 2014-2015 Armenia in international organizations: UN, OSCE and CoE • Armenia, which is a member to such international organizations such as UN, OSCE and CoE, needs to play a more active part in the activities of these organizations in their structural reforming (particularly, in the planned reform of the UN bodies, as well as in the discussions on the framework changes of OSCE and CoE). Armenian delegates in these organizations should revoke the practice of concentrating only on the issues regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915. At the UN general assemblies, OSCE summits and CoE the Armenian representatives need to articulate the country’s position on a variety of issues, including the global climate change, new architecture of the European security, as well as the Middle East. It is necessary to be actively involved into the activities of the UN bodies, such as Economic and Social Council, UN Commission on Population and Development, UN Human Right Council, UN Conference on Trade and Development. In the case of the CoE the delegates to the PACE from Armenia should concentrate not only on the activities in the committees, but also in the party factions, where the process of the formation of Europe’s main political concepts and currents is going on. All this will help uplifting Armenia’s authority in the world and prevent undesirable resolutions at international floors. • UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, while on a visit to Latvia on 15 November 2013, touched on matters relating to the reforms of the UN and called on to step up the negotiation on a reform of the UN Security council. The UN Secretary General noted that the question of the UN Security Council reform is on the agenda for the past 20 years and the Security Council’s member states agree that in view of all the changes in key spheres of our life, including social, political and 7 economic, the Security Council has to be reformed, making it more democratic, representative and more transparent to be able to better react to all challenges. Meanwhile as Ban Ki-moon said, regardless of disputes on the need of reforming the UN Security Council unfolding between the UN member states, the opinions are still divided. He also called to step up the reforms. This statement by the UN Secretary General once again show the urgency of the UN and UN Security Council reforms for the international community and the Armenian diplomats could seriously take up this topic and make relevant suggestions and come up with initiatives,
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