Ambassador: Iran cannot be against Armenia`s efforts to strengthen  its own economic sustainability and solve Artsakh refugees` problems 

ArmInfo.The Armenian authorities assured us that the meeting in Brussels was purely  economic. Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani  stated on April 16 at a press conference in Yerevan in response to a request to comment on the Armenia-US-EU meeting in  Brussels on April 5.

The Ambassador noted that Tehran discussed this meeting with official  Yerevan. "Armenian authorities assured us that the Brussels meeting  was purely economic, and was also aimed at obtaining assistance in  resolving the humanitarian issues of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.  The Armenian authorities informed us that this meeting was not  directed against any third country," the diplomat added.

He emphasized that Iran cannot be against Armenia's efforts to  strengthen its own economic sustainability and solve the problems of  refugees from Artsakh. "This is the sovereign right of Armenia. Our  concern is that Armenia and the South Caucasus do not turn into an  arena of geopolitical clashes or that Yerevan develops foreign policy  ties at the expense of third countries. In Yerevan, we were assured  that the diversification of foreign policy relations is not directed  against Armenia-Iran relations," Sobhani said, noting that  good-neighbourly, strategic relations have developed between Armenia  and Iran.

On April 5, a Pashinyan-Blinken-von der Leyen meeting took place in  Brussels. At the beginning of the negotiations, in particular, the  President of the European Commission announced that Brussels would  provide Armenia with an additional 270 million euros of assistance  over the next four years in order to support small and medium-sized  businesses, as well as infrastructure development. The US Secretary  of State also announced additional assistance of $65 million. The  Prime Minister of Armenia expressed gratitude for this ongoing  commitment and emphasized that Armenia is ready to continue reforms  and close relations with the West.