In an interview with ArabNews, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian said that Armenia seeks friendly ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran.

When asked if Armenia’s relations with Tehran could deter any prospect of normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia and moderate Arab states, Sarkissian responded: “No, not at all. Armenia is not a religious state and already enjoys excellent relations with Arab countries as well as Iran, which didn’t take the path of destroying Armenian heritage or churches —in fact the government financed the restoration of Armenian churches in Iran.”

Sarkissian said Yerevan and Tehran enjoy a relationship that is historic and cultural and have mutual interests such as energy and trade.

The Armenian President rejected suggestions that the Karabakh conflict is not just a land dispute, but also a religious war between Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan.

“It was never a religious war,” Sarkissian said. “Armenia has wonderful relations with a lot of states where Islam is a major religion, states where Islam is the only religion, or states that have Islam as their state religion”.