Originally posted by arakeretzig
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Under the Goble Plan Armenia was to be expected to essentially abandon its border connection with Iran. A ten kilometer wide corridor along Armenia's southern border region with Iran, stretching from south-western Azerbaijan to eastern Nakhijevan was then to be internationalized. In return, Baku was to be expected to recognize Artsakh's independence. The overall intent/purpose of this Washingtonian project was to divert Central Asian energy distribution away from Russian control - as well as settling the dispute over Nagorno Karabakh independent of Moscow.
Again, we must bare in mind that this ambitious plan was hatched by officials in Washington during the mid-1990s. In other words, it was concocted during a time when Russia was on its knees and to a large extent at the mercy of the West. Taking advantage of Russia's weak political position at the time, Washington was more-or-less hoping for Yerevan to voluntarily disconnect itself from Iran, arguable Armenia's most strategic neighbor - for mere promises made by Western oil interests. By expecting it to abandon its border with Iran, Yerevan was essentially being asked to voluntarily complete the total encirclement and geopolitical isolation of the already embattled Armenian state. Incredibly, by not surprisingly, this potentially disastrous/suicidal plan seemed to have found willing partners in the highest echelons of the Armenian government.
There were indicators at the time that Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian and National Assembly Speaker Karen Demirjian had at least preliminarily accepted Washington's aforementioned proposals. Thus, Armenian officials were, at least preliminarily, getting ready to partake in the West's agenda in the Caucasus. Shortly before their deaths, Vazgen Sarkisian and Karen Demirjian were publicly stating that Yerevan will no longer allow itself to be subservient to Moscow and that Armenia will seek better relations with the West. This very significant development in Armenian politics at the time was unmistakably a direct political message to Moscow and it had come soon after Vazgen Sarkisian's working visit to Washington. Needless to say, one can just imagine the indignation and rage Kremlin officials must have felt at the time.
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