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Armenian Political Life And NATO Expansion

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  • Armenian Political Life And NATO Expansion

    ARMENIAN POLITICAL LIFE AND NATO EXPANSION
    By A. Haroutiunian

    AZG Armenian Daily
    28/03/2008

    Regional

    Armenia not Concerned with Georgia's NATO Membership?

    The Armenian Center for National And Strategic Research (ACNSR)
    organized a discussion on NATO expansion in Caucasus. About 50 people
    were invited to the discussion, but only a minor part of them was
    present to the event.

    The participants of the discussion rather spoke about the inner
    political situation in Armenia rather than the issues connected with
    the North-Atlantic alliance.

    However, the first Rapporteur, former Vice Defence Minister Vahan
    Shirkhanian, pointed out three possible ways of development of the
    NATO activities in Georgia.

    According to Mr. Shirkhanian, Georgia may soon become a full NATO
    member by the localized Balkan scenario, and restore its territorial
    and administrative integrity with the aid of NATO forces. In this
    circumstances the Russia-Georgia relations would worsen even more,
    Armenia would face serious troubles with its vital communications with
    abroad and the military actions in Georgia would encourage Azerbaijan
    to recommence the armed conflict in Karabakh.

    According to the second scenario, observed by Shirkhanian, Georgia
    would be given the green light on the coming NATO Summit in Bucharest
    and Georgia-NATO negotiations on membership would be started. This
    would encourage Azerbaijan to start in its turn similar negotiations
    with NATO. Thus, Armenia would remain alone amidst three NATO-oriented
    states.

    Shirkhanian said that most probably NATO will decide not to decide
    to start membershiop negotiations with Georgia yet and will beware
    of provoking armed clashes in the region.

    The idea of ACNSR expert Hovsep Khurshudian's speech was rather
    vague. With a few words, it may be said that Kurshudian tried to
    convince the listeners that the situation inside Armenia is so bad
    that the issue of Georgia's NATO membership is of little importance
    compared with that.

    Independent expert Manvel Sargsian, instead of speaking on the topic
    of his report, which was also the possible membership of Georgia in
    NATO, was deliberating vaguely on "some forces" in our region, which
    were suggestedly "the West" and Russia. it came out from his words
    that there is no power in the world which could match "the West",
    and even Russia's chances to oppose it are close to zero.
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