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Last week, the European Parliament passed a resolution proposing the EU executive power to consider the possibility of granting Armenia the status of a candidate for EU membership. It gave rise to more pro-Western and anti-Russian statements and sentiments in Armenia.

Panorama.am spoke with Vardan Voskanyan, an expert on Armenian-Iranian relations who recently returned from Tehran, to find out the stance of Iranian experts and officials on Armenia's push for closer relations with the West.

“Iranians don’t oppose closer ties between Armenia and the European Union, the collective West. But there is a key condition here: under no circumstances should these relations be used against Iran. In other words, when it comes to the rapprochement with the EU, Iran considers it normal as far as its interests are concerned. But the possible deepening of military ties with NATO is seen as a challenge for them,” Voskanyan said.

“Separately, Iran considers the possible development of political and economic relations between Armenia and the EU Armenia as an opportunity for them if Armenia can make the country a platform for the EU-Iran relations, especially Iran’s relations with France, to somewhat improve. It’s a great opportunity for us to significantly enhance our geopolitical role and economic relations with Iran and the EU,” the expert added.