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Russia's Putin reaffirms ties with Armenia,reportedly seeking to ope

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  • Russia's Putin reaffirms ties with Armenia,reportedly seeking to ope

    PRAVDA, Russia
    March 25 2005

    Russia's Putin reaffirms ties with Armenia, reportedly seeking to
    open new military bases in ally nation

    14:37 2005-03-25

    Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Moscow's close
    ties with key regional ally Armenia in talks Friday with his Armenian
    counterpart, Robert Kocharian.

    Putin said he hoped his two-day visit to Yerevan would lay the
    groundwork for further strengthening the two nations' relations.

    "We have a good basis for economic cooperation and the development
    of relations in the political sphere," the Russian leader said in
    televised remarks.

    "The ties between our two countries and peoples have long been very
    stable," Putin said.

    Armenia, an impoverished, landlocked Caucasus state, is one of Moscow's
    closest allies on its southern flank, and Russian maintains a military
    base there.

    The alliance with Armenia _ one of the six countries in an ex-Soviet
    military pact led by Moscow _ has taken on added importance since
    neighboring Georgia began leaning toward the West after the 2003
    "Rose Revolution" brought liberal reformers to power.

    In an article headlined "Putin tries to hang onto last ally," the
    Russian daily Kommersant reported that the Russian leader was seeking
    agreement to open new military bases in Armenia because of the forced
    withdrawal of Russian bases in Georgia.

    Putin's visit came a day after massive opposition protests in the
    Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan, where protesters ousted long-serving
    ruler Askar Akayev in the third popular revolution in an ex-Soviet
    republic within the last year and a half.
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