168 Zham: Closing border with Iran to be very difficult issue for Armenia to overcome: U.S. expert

Speaking to 168 Zham daily, former U.S. diplomat, political analyst Paul Goble, referring to the new sanctions against Iran said, “Armenia is an important country for the USA thanks to its powerful Diaspora which is a serious factor in the United States. Thus, the partnership relations suppose understanding that the loss of Iranian direction for Armenia will mean more dependence from Russia and Georgia which is not desirable. The Armenian prime minister spoke about the possibility of closing the border which I think is an extreme scenario as the United States understands the significance of Iran and Georgia for Armenia. Closing the border will be very difficult issue for Armenia to overcome. It is necessary to avoid such scenario. The United States does not put such issue before Armenia, thus there is no need of extreme measures.”

Goble said the impact will be of economic nature, considering the circumstance that the parties have extended programs and have already launched some of them.

Speaking to the daily, Iranian political analyst Ali Salami said that former Armenian authorities managed to find optimal model for maintaining positive relations with Iran and partnership relations with the United States.

“It depends on current Armenian authorities. These sanctions may have negative impact on Armenian-Iranian trade-economic relations but the political relations will be preserved,” the analyst told the daily.