Two years passed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which brought death, suffering, and destruction to tens of millions of people, changed the face of Europe, rattled and shifted global politics. The West is taking a stand, supplying Ukraine with weapons and resources, trying hard to drain the Russian war machine of its revenue sources and essential goods and technology.
On February 23, the EU adopted the 13th package of sanctions against Russia. It focuses on further limiting Russia's access to military technologies, such as drones, and on listing additional companies and individuals involved in Russia's war effort. With this new package, the number of individual listings has reached over 2000, dealing a massive blow to those who enable Russia's illegal war against Ukraine.
Previous sanctions have significantly impacted Russia's foreign revenues and ruptured Russia's supply chains, limiting its access to Western technologies in critical industrial sectors. The focus now is on enforcement, particularly against circumvention of EU sanctions via third countries. This time, sanctions also target individuals and companies in China, Kazakhstan, India, Serbia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Türkiye.
Notably, on the same day, February 23, the United States updated sanction lists against Russia, including approximately 600 individuals and entities from 11 countries that "facilitate evasion of sanctions against Russia."
It is not the first time that the EU and the US have targeted those who help Russia circumvent sanctions. But one country always manages to assist Moscow's aggression with total impunity. This country is Armenia, which has long played a game of words that contradict actions.
The EU publication on adopting the 13th package of sanctions states that the Union "constantly assesses the effectiveness of existing measures... identifies and eliminates any potential loopholes." However, during more than 700 days of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Armenian collaboration with the Kremlin's war machine has not only not been stopped but seems to be deliberately ignored.
There is enough evidence that Armenia is the primary channel for Russia to bypass sanctions. Primarily, economic data attests to this: in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Armenia's exports to Russia increased by an unprecedented 187%. At that time, Armenia's finance minister, Ovannisyan, admitted that "a significant part consists of re-exportation. In the first nine months of 2023, the export of goods from Armenia to Russia increased by 85%, of which 80% is re-export.
The list of Armenia's top 10 most significant trading partners continues to be led by Russia:
In 2023, the trade turnover with Russia increased to over 7 billion dollars; it is not new or unknown to the public. In 2022, Armenia, a small nation with a population of 3 million, witnessed an extraordinary economic growth of 14.2%. The British Telegraph emphasized this notable progress, stating, "But the most remarkable is Armenia, with its 13% economic expansion in just 12 months, making it a contender for the third-fastest growing economy in the world."
The US Jamestown Foundation noted that Armenia's foreign trade turnover grew by 69% after the start of the war in Ukraine, attributing this growth to the re-export from Armenia to Russia. A collaborative statement by the US Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, and the US Treasury categorizes Armenia as a hub for third-party intermediaries or transshipment points to circumvent sanctions and export controls related to Russia and Belarus. According to a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development report, new supply chains were quickly established through Armenia in response to sanctions, with subsequent expansion taking several months.
What is the reason for this "selective blindness" of the Western community? Why is there almost no attention paid to the fact that Yerevan is promptly turning into Tehran's ally?
Last September, Israel's Alma, an institute focused on threats to Israel, released a report elaborating on how Armenia functions as a transit point in the Islamic Republic's air corridor route to Syria and Lebanon.
The report said Iran exploits Armenia not only to subvert Azerbaijan – an ally of Israel – but also to facilitate the Islamic Republic's delivery of military equipment to Syria and then to Lebanon, underlining that "the Iranian effort in both arenas works against Israel."
The institute pointed out that Iran supports Armenia in the conflict with Azerbaijan and that Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) operates in the area while tensions are high and may flare up again shortly. "Iran is acting against Azerbaijan on multiple fronts, with the IRGC's Quds Force conducting operations in asymmetric warfare, information warfare, and transferring weapons and military equipment to Armenia."
Iran became Yerevan's leading partner in this process in all areas – economic, military, and political, the Israeli "Begin Sadat Center" think tank points out.
Another Israeli think tank – JISS, asserts that Armenia is a hub for Iranian weapons smuggling. It notes that recently, the Armenian Minister of Internal Affairs publicly acknowledged the fact that they have «lost 17 thousand assault rifles». The experts are sure that they were sold to Iran, and Armenian officials are concerned that if Iranian proxies use these rifles, the origin of the weapons will come to light, harming Armenia's reputation.
According to the Polish magazine New Eastern Europe, Yerevan aided Moscow in evading sanctions by facilitating the transit of Iranian drones and missiles. Operational data from the magazine reveals flights from Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport, where Soviet Ilyushin-76MD aircraft allegedly transported Iranian drones to Russia. Iran Air Cargo, sanctioned by the US, was observed operating flights through Yerevan airport to and from Moscow, along with other Iranian entities implicated in delivering Iranian drones to Russia via Armenian airports.
Iranian influence also might be the reason behind the rise of antisemitism in Armenia, the US and Israeli experts claim. According to the Israeli Ministry of the Diaspora Affairs' latest report on world antisemitism, the only synagogue in Yerevan has been recently attacked several times by a group calling to kill Jews and Israelis abroad.
"Israel-Azerbaijan relations and the Israeli security exports to Azerbaijan largely influence the antisemitic discourse in Armenia. These ties arouse a great deal of anger in Armenian society in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh war raging between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, the fact that Armenia chose to focus on Israel in particular and not necessarily on other countries supporting Azerbaijan goes to show that the antisemitic attitude in Armenia is deeply rooted and may even be influenced by outside factors."
The comprehensive report further states that "Armenian social networks were quick to respond positively to the Hamas attack (on October 7) and share mass propaganda produced by Hamas. This action was accompanied by harsh criticism of Israel, explicit demands to support Hamas, and comparisons between Israel, Azerbaijan, and Nazi Germany."
Additionally, the report mentioned that "Vladimir Poghosyan, a prominent anti-Israel political commentator and previous holder of official security positions, who is known for his harsh antisemitic leanings, has openly threatened the Jews and Israel, repeatedly calling for attacks on Jews. As a result of this violent rhetoric, the small Jewish community in Armenia has often been victim to antisemitic harassment, which culminated in two attempts to burn down the only synagogue in the country."
On January 1, 2024, a group of Armenian neo-Nazis marched through the streets of the Armenia capital of Yerevan with stylized Nazi flags. They commemorated the birthday of Garegin Nzhdeh, an Armenian national hero convicted of collaborating with Nazi Germany during World War II. The participants marched through the streets chanting the "Sieg Heil" slogan.
The perception of impunity is one of the most severe factors leading to more dangerous actions. There is a definite need to make it clear to Armenia that aiding and abetting Russia, alliance with Iran, antisemitic crimes, and Nazi parades turns it into a rouge state. Perhaps Israel should clarify such a position to the forces of common sense in the US and the EU.
Dr. Frank Musmar is a Faculty, Academic Researcher, Middle East geopolitics expert, Bestselling writer, Advisory Board President, Dissertations and proofreading specialist, and Journalist
Dr. Musmar holds two master's degrees from George Washington University in Political Science and Government and the University of Maryland in Biotechnology Management. Moreover, Dr. Musmar holds two doctorate degrees in business administration from Walden University and one in biological management from the University of Texas.
Dr. Musmar wrote and published 10 Books on business and economy and many articles concerning Middle East Politics at BESA, Jerusalem Post, The Euro-Gulf Information Centre, Foreign Policy, The Algemeiner, Fikir Academy for Strategic Studies, and many others. Moreover, Dr. Musmar is a frequent attending analyst at Al-Hurrah (MBN), TPV World, and Radio Sawa from Washington.
Dr. Musmar is an Executive Advisory Board President for the University of Maryland Global Campus, An Advisory member at the Abrahamic Accord Business Circle, a Board Member at Paris Metropolitan University, the founder and the Lead Dissertations Consultant at Editors Dissertations and Thesis, A professor of Business Administration and Geopolitics at GAIA College and working with many universities at several educational faculty levels, including but not limited to the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), Walden, Arizona, Concordia University, Grand Canyon University, University of Central Paris, and Southern New Hampshire University.
