Yerevan is trying to demonstrate to its Anglo-Saxon `bosses` its  readiness to reduce economic cooperation with Iran - political  scientist

ArmInfo. Yerevan is trying to fit into the field of anti-Iranian sanctions, demonstrating to the  Anglo-Saxon 'bosses' its readiness to reduce economic cooperation with Iran significantly Political scientist, Doctor of Political Sciences Vahe Davtyan wrote on his Facebook page, commenting on the  decision of the RA government to liquidate Energoimpex JSC.

According to the political scientist, Energoimpex is a state company  founded in 2016 to further develop the Armenian-Iranian energy  relations. In particular, the company was supposed to work within the  framework of the Armenian-Iranian "electricity in exchange for gas"  barter deal aimed at deepening cooperation and constantly increasing  volumes. In fact, according to the expert, the liquidation of the  company has a pronounced geopolitical and geo-economic significance.  "Essentially, it means that Armenia does not consider the development  of an "energy dialogue" with Iran in the context of state  protectionist policy. Meanwhile, this is extremely necessary, given  the tasks of diversifying the methods and directions for ensuring  Armenia's energy security. "Just building solar power plants does not  develop the energy system," Davtyan emphasized.  He added that the  government's decision means that Yerevan is trying to fit into the  field of anti-Iranian sanctions, showing the Anglo-Saxon 'bosses' its  readiness to reduce economic cooperation significantly with Iran.  Meanwhile, the political scientist recalled, since 1997, when the  D'Amato Law was adopted in the United States (the application of  sanctions in case of implementation of projects with Iran exceeding  $40 million), Armenia has been dynamically developing economic ties  with Iran, to which, by the way, Washington always treated with  understanding, never considering these relations in the context of  sanctions.

Davtyan emphasized that the liquidation of Energoimpex is also a  symbolic step. "To understand this, it is enough to remember that the  company was established synchronously with the formation of the Iran-  Armenia-Georgia gas swap corridor. The company was also supposed to  act as the Armenian operator of this corridor. By and large, this is  a step against the North-South logistics strategy," according to  which Iran claims to enter third markets, including Russia, through  the South Caucasus," the political scientist emphasized.

He noted that the decision fits into the logic of the policy of  liberalizing the electricity market in Armenia, which in itself is  very problematic and even risky from the point of view of ensuring  energy security. By de facto liberalizing the import and export of  electricity, the government has demonstrated that it has no priority  in foreign markets. Meanwhile, the Iranian direction has always been  key in Armenia's energy policy. "This, in turn, means that just as we  lost the Georgian electricity market, we will soon lose the Iranian  one," the political scientist stated.