Radar Armenia's interlocutor is international affairs expert Shahan Gandaharian.
- Negotiations between Russian-Ukrainian delegations took place in Istanbul, followed by a Trump-Putin phone call. Is there any noticeable progress in the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations? How do you interpret the course of events further?
I don't see any progress. Until there is a US-Russian agreement, no progress can be expected. The US wants to reach any agreement according to its own rules. Pressure stops negotiations without a clear agreement. This is the nature of the general process for now.
- How do you interpret the recent Russian-Ukrainian mutual strikes? Ukraine fired missiles at a fleet of military aircraft located at Russian airports, and Russia fired missiles at Kyiv on Friday morning. Don't these actions distance the parties from peace?
- Yes, that's why there is no progress. Ankara is trying to assume the role of a guarantor. In essence, however, the referee of the war game remains the United States. This is not only true in the Russian-Ukrainian war game.
- Israel has struck Beirut. Are there any tendencies to expand military operations?
I don't think so, but there will be targeted attacks and neutralization of military posts. The ceasefire is not being maintained, but life in Lebanon has, to a certain extent, returned to normal. Beirut proposes receiving foreign aid in droplets and slow increments. The aid is conditional, mainly on the condition of Hezbollah's surrender of weapons.
- It seems that a diplomatic rapprochement is being observed in Israeli-Iranian relations, and the situation is not as tense as before. Is that impression wrong?
Everything depends on the outcome of the negotiations on the Washington-Tehran nuclear agenda. The crux is there. Some prerequisites must be met for an agreement to be reached.
- In this context, I would like also to address the US-Iran negotiations.
- With the success of the negotiations, Iran will be unblocked, mainly through Syunik. This explains Iran's determination towards the corridor. The Washington-Tehran agreement is in the interests of our state. Armenia will become a bridge between Iran and the West.
Arman Galoyan spoke
