Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijani oil or historical relations with Armenia: Italian interests in the conflict in the South Caucasus

The new confrontations between Armenia me Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh they also affect the interests of Italy. Baku is in fact the first provider of Petroleum Rome, a detail that will inevitably influence the Italian position after the resurgence of the conflict in Southern caucasus. On the balance, economic interests could outweigh traditional ones historical-cultural relations between Italy and Armenia, despite the presence of many Italian companies in the country.

The economy and history collide when our country will somehow have to show which side to be on between the two former Republics serious escalation of the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. For now, as a result of the foreign relations strategy of our governments, Italy has not taken a clear position, joining the voice of theEurope who expects a political-diplomatic management of the crisis.

As a non-autonomous country in terms of energy, it is difficult for Italy to condemn the military aggression carried out on Sunday morning by Azerbaijan against the civilian population of the Republic of Artsakh, not internationally recognized: “Italy is a strategic country for Azerbaijan and has an institutional memory on the conflict. In particular, it has vital interests for its own economy ”, confirms the Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Italy. Mammad Ahmadzada. Which adds a very important military strategic detail: “Armenia began its military operations in July in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border district of Peacock, the territory affected by the energy infrastructure, not by chance a few months before the commissioning of the Southern gas corridor (Cmg). Yerevan pursues a clear design, hinder these energy projects so important for Europe and, consequently, for Italy ”.

A decisive factor should not be forgotten either: geographically and politically Nagorno Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan, but after the first part of the conflict, which ended in 1994, those lands are inhabited by the Armenians who founded the separatist Republic of Artsakh. That said, last Sunday’s offensive bears the signature of Baku, with bombing also on civilian targets, as reported by the counterpart.

The Caucasus remains an area of ​​economic interest on a large scale and the world’s longest conflict is controlled precisely by trying to respect the limitations and balance of power of the great regional powers: the Turkey on the one hand, in full support for Baku, beyond the old questions of Armenian Genocide more than a century ago, and the Russia on the other, near Yerevan.

On the strip of land between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea Europe’s Energy Survival Flows: Petroleum me gas. Since Tap, which from Azerbaijan reaches Italy through the Puglia, to Cmg, without forgetting theoleodotto Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan that Orthodox Armenia and the Shiites simply bargain Iran, Countries are not welcomed by Sunni forces in Baku and Ankara.

If we were to rely on these reports, Italy could wink more than one eye at the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The quality of life in the beautiful country is worth it. But how can we forget the excellent relations with Armenia that are lost over time? The Azerbaijani community in Italy does not have important numbers, unlike the Armenian, due to the diaspora followed by genocide of 1915. Not to mention the cultural testimonies: “Several Italian cities have Armenian patron saints, such as Saint Gregory the Illuminator, San biagio, San Miniato and so on – explains the Armenian ambassador in Rome, Tsovinar Hambardzumyan – Traveling through Italy, from north to south, you can find innumerable ancient testimonies of the friendship between our peoples. I will limit myself to mentioning the first book printed in the Armenian language that was published in Italy in 1512. The threads that unite our peoples are so strong and deep that after the independence of Armenia fromUSSR No special effort was necessary to establish excellent interstate relations with Italy. We appreciate the balance maintained by Italy in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, hoping that positions will be maintained within the framework described in Minsk Group (an operational structure created by the OSCE in 1992 and dedicated to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, ed.) “.

History but not only. Apparently the relations between Italy and Armenia are also based on the economy, although not comparable to the volumes expressed at the energy level with Azerbaijan: “Currently, there are more than 170 companies with participation in Italian capital – adds the highest Armenian diplomatic representative in Italy – The interest of Italian businessmen in our country is growing, the investments made recently refer to the sectors of textile, of the ceramic, Dell ‘Energy. During the last two years, our commercial turnover has increased by almost 50%. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic of coronavirus, in the first semester of this year we registered a decrease of 21% in commercial invoicing ”.