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RUSSIAN TROOPS IN ARMENIA SET FOR MISSION UPGRADE
http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/2114475.html
30.07.2010
Russia -- President Dmitry Medvedev meets with his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sarkisian in Rostov-on-Don, 1 June 2010.
Moscow and Yerevan are planning to sign a new military agreement
that would assign Russia and its troops a greater role in ensuring
Armenia's security, official sources in both countries said on Friday.
The Interfax news agency reported that the two governments will soon
amend a 1995 treaty regulating the presence of a Russian military
base in Armenia. It said the Russian government has already submitted
a relevant "protocol" to President Dmitry Medvedev, who is scheduled
to visit Yerevan in mid-August.
It said one of the amendments proposed by the protocol makes clear
that the Russian base will not only protect Russia's interests but
also contribute to Armenia's national security.
Under another change cited by Interfax, Moscow will explicitly commit
itself to providing its main South Caucasus ally with "modern and
compatible weaponry and (special) military hardware."
Speaking to RFE/RL's Armenian service, a senior official at the
Armenian Defense Ministry essentially confirmed the information. The
official noted, though, that the Russian troops headquartered in the
northern Armenian city of Gyumri are already tasked with defending
Armenia. The planned changes in the Russian-Armenian treaty would
simply underline that mission in more explicit terms, he explained.
The treaty went into effect in 1997 and is valid for 25 years.
Interfax said its amended version would prolong the Russian military
presence in Armenia by another 24 years and provide for its further
automatic extension in the future.
The Russian base, which numbers some 4,000 personnel, and the broader
military alliance with Russia has been a key element of Armenia's
national security ever since the Soviet collapse. Armenian leaders
have repeatedly stated that despite forging closer security links
with the West in recent years, they will not seek NATO membership in
the foreseeable future.
Just last week, Yerevan and Moscow announced plans to significantly
boost cooperation between their defense industries within the framework
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led
military alliance of seven ex-Soviet states. Top Russian and Armenian
security officials said after talks in Yerevan that they have reached
agreements envisaging the establishment of defense joint ventures.
From: A. Papazian
http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/2114475.html
30.07.2010
Russia -- President Dmitry Medvedev meets with his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sarkisian in Rostov-on-Don, 1 June 2010.
Moscow and Yerevan are planning to sign a new military agreement
that would assign Russia and its troops a greater role in ensuring
Armenia's security, official sources in both countries said on Friday.
The Interfax news agency reported that the two governments will soon
amend a 1995 treaty regulating the presence of a Russian military
base in Armenia. It said the Russian government has already submitted
a relevant "protocol" to President Dmitry Medvedev, who is scheduled
to visit Yerevan in mid-August.
It said one of the amendments proposed by the protocol makes clear
that the Russian base will not only protect Russia's interests but
also contribute to Armenia's national security.
Under another change cited by Interfax, Moscow will explicitly commit
itself to providing its main South Caucasus ally with "modern and
compatible weaponry and (special) military hardware."
Speaking to RFE/RL's Armenian service, a senior official at the
Armenian Defense Ministry essentially confirmed the information. The
official noted, though, that the Russian troops headquartered in the
northern Armenian city of Gyumri are already tasked with defending
Armenia. The planned changes in the Russian-Armenian treaty would
simply underline that mission in more explicit terms, he explained.
The treaty went into effect in 1997 and is valid for 25 years.
Interfax said its amended version would prolong the Russian military
presence in Armenia by another 24 years and provide for its further
automatic extension in the future.
The Russian base, which numbers some 4,000 personnel, and the broader
military alliance with Russia has been a key element of Armenia's
national security ever since the Soviet collapse. Armenian leaders
have repeatedly stated that despite forging closer security links
with the West in recent years, they will not seek NATO membership in
the foreseeable future.
Just last week, Yerevan and Moscow announced plans to significantly
boost cooperation between their defense industries within the framework
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led
military alliance of seven ex-Soviet states. Top Russian and Armenian
security officials said after talks in Yerevan that they have reached
agreements envisaging the establishment of defense joint ventures.
From: A. Papazian