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Russian gifts to Armenia: Sea, Atom, & Olympic Games

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  • Russian gifts to Armenia: Sea, Atom, & Olympic Games

    What the Papers Say Part A (Russia)
    February 7, 2008 Thursday



    RUSSIAN GIFTS TO ARMENIA: SEA, ATOM, AND OLYMPIC GAMES

    by Pyotr Netreba



    BACKED BY RUSSIA, PRIME MINISTER SERZH SARKISJAN WILL CERTAINLY
    BECOME THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA



    Victor Zubkov flew to Yerevan on the eve of the presidential election
    in Armenia slated for February 19. The visit began with a meeting
    with Serzh Sarkisjan, Zubkov's opposite number and candidate for
    president. The Russian delegation is stone-cold confident that
    Sarkisjan will win the election. "Continuity of the current trends in
    the Russian-Armenian relations should be assured," a Russian official
    was quoted as saying.

    Armenian diaspora in Russia numbers nearly 2 million. Private
    transactions from Russia to Armenia annually amount to $1 billion -
    equalling sum total of Russian investments in Armenian economy
    throughout years of cooperation. Russian capitals control nearly all
    major economic objects in Armenia and objects of the financial
    infrastructure, transportation, and communications. Inter RAO EES for
    example runs the Sevan-Razdan Hydropower Project and Razdan Thermal
    Power Plant, Gazprom manages ArmGazprom, and Russian Railroads took
    over their Armenian analog barely a year ago.

    Zubkov did his bit for the Russian expansion into Armenia, yesterday.
    Sergei Kirienko of Rosatom accompanying Zubkov said the negotiations
    were mostly centered around construction of a new nuclear power plant
    in Armenia in 2010-2011 (the one Armenia has these days is old, to be
    shut down in 2011). According to Kirienko, Russia's chances of
    winning the forthcoming international contest are fine. In any event,
    the future nuclear power plant in Armenia will never find itself
    short of fuel. A memorandum was signed on the Russian-Armenian joint
    venture for geologic exploration and uranium mining in Armenia.
    Russia and Armenia will have equal shares (50%) in the new outfit.
    Kirienko recalled the first Russian expeditions to Armenia in 2007
    that estimated uranium resources there at about 30,000 tons.

    Transportation Minister Igor Levitin came up with a new idea of
    including Armenia, a country without access to the sea, in the
    would-be Black Sea Ring route. The project promoted by Russia
    stipulates regular ferry runs after 2010-2011 between Varna in
    Bulgaria, Kavkaz in Russia, Ilyichevsk in Ukraine, Poti in Georgia,
    and Istanbul in Turkey. Armenia was advised to organize cargo traffic
    via Poti (something the Georgians will have to be talked into yet).
    Levitin in the meantime did not think that problematic relations
    between Russia and Georgia would spell trouble for Armenia's
    participation in the project.

    Along with everything else, Zubkov praised Armenian-made cement and
    said it would probably be used in construction in Sochi where objects
    for the future Olympic Games were already being built.

    Sarkisjan kept saying in the meantime that no matter how important
    solution to transport and other problems was, cordial relations with
    Russia took precedence over everything else. "Being friends with
    Russia benefits Armenia, and Russian capitals feel comfortable here
    in Armenia," he said.

    Source: Kommersant, February 7, 2008, p. 2

    Translated by Aleksei Ignatkin
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