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FRIENDS FOREVER: ARMENIAN PREZ REITERATES TIES WITH RUSSIAN NEIGHBORS/INVESTORS
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow
25.10.11 | 13:18
Photo: www.president.am
Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan's first three-day state visit to
Russia once more confirms the fact that the relations with Russia
"have gone beyond positive-friendly and are developing in the realm
of friendly partnership and strategic relations", the president said.
Many in Armenia, however, have concerns whether those words match
reality.
The president said that from the first day of his visit the Armenian
delegation could feel the pointedly warm attitude, which is the first
evidence of Armenian-Russian relations as allies.
"It is an answer to all those who are trying to drive a wedge between
the two countries. We reaffirmed today that such attempts are futile.
The Armenian-Russian strategic partnership has a strong historic ground
and is actively developing in accordance with both countries' interests
that are aimed at the future and are important to both peoples".
Sargsyan's visit has a full agenda: on the second day, Monday, the
leaders of Armenia and Russia had a personal meeting at the Kremlin,
followed by the signing of a number of documents.
"We are holding large-scale negotiations both privately and publicly.
We have covered all the topics on both bilateral and regional as
well as economic and military-technical cooperation," said Russian
president Dmitry Medvedev.
Reflecting on the Karabakh conflict, Medvedev stated that it is
possible to reach a just solution of the issue through negotiations.
During their joint press-conference the two presidents also talked
about economic cooperation.
"Russia has been and will remain our number one trade and economic
partner," said Sargsyan, stressing that Russian investments in Armenia
currently reach $3 billion, and 60 percent of foreign companies
operating in Armenia are Russian.
It is this extent of Russian presence in Armenia that many economists
are concerned about. They periodically remind that Russia owns 80
percent of Armenia's energy networks by "pennies and pressures",
having ousted Iran by means of the same pressures; two of Armenia's
three phone operators are Russian, 30 percent of the railway has been
given to Russia under concessional management agreement. The concerns
grew even bigger when the Russian military base deployment agreement
was extended to 49 years.
"Every once in a while we should remember that one shouldn't keep
all eggs in one basket, it doesn't matter whether it's Russia or any
other country. It's a threat to our sovereignty, but we can see how
that political-economic expansion continues, and not in our favor,"
political scientist Stepan Grigoryan, heading Globalization and
Regional Cooperation Center, told ArmeniaNow.
While Armenia is expecting new developments and new economic and
political intervention, the Armenian president's visit is in process:
he has meetings scheduled with Russian premier Vladimir Putin, State
Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, Leader of Federal Council Valentina
Matvienko, and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
From: A. Papazian
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow
25.10.11 | 13:18
Photo: www.president.am
Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan's first three-day state visit to
Russia once more confirms the fact that the relations with Russia
"have gone beyond positive-friendly and are developing in the realm
of friendly partnership and strategic relations", the president said.
Many in Armenia, however, have concerns whether those words match
reality.
The president said that from the first day of his visit the Armenian
delegation could feel the pointedly warm attitude, which is the first
evidence of Armenian-Russian relations as allies.
"It is an answer to all those who are trying to drive a wedge between
the two countries. We reaffirmed today that such attempts are futile.
The Armenian-Russian strategic partnership has a strong historic ground
and is actively developing in accordance with both countries' interests
that are aimed at the future and are important to both peoples".
Sargsyan's visit has a full agenda: on the second day, Monday, the
leaders of Armenia and Russia had a personal meeting at the Kremlin,
followed by the signing of a number of documents.
"We are holding large-scale negotiations both privately and publicly.
We have covered all the topics on both bilateral and regional as
well as economic and military-technical cooperation," said Russian
president Dmitry Medvedev.
Reflecting on the Karabakh conflict, Medvedev stated that it is
possible to reach a just solution of the issue through negotiations.
During their joint press-conference the two presidents also talked
about economic cooperation.
"Russia has been and will remain our number one trade and economic
partner," said Sargsyan, stressing that Russian investments in Armenia
currently reach $3 billion, and 60 percent of foreign companies
operating in Armenia are Russian.
It is this extent of Russian presence in Armenia that many economists
are concerned about. They periodically remind that Russia owns 80
percent of Armenia's energy networks by "pennies and pressures",
having ousted Iran by means of the same pressures; two of Armenia's
three phone operators are Russian, 30 percent of the railway has been
given to Russia under concessional management agreement. The concerns
grew even bigger when the Russian military base deployment agreement
was extended to 49 years.
"Every once in a while we should remember that one shouldn't keep
all eggs in one basket, it doesn't matter whether it's Russia or any
other country. It's a threat to our sovereignty, but we can see how
that political-economic expansion continues, and not in our favor,"
political scientist Stepan Grigoryan, heading Globalization and
Regional Cooperation Center, told ArmeniaNow.
While Armenia is expecting new developments and new economic and
political intervention, the Armenian president's visit is in process:
he has meetings scheduled with Russian premier Vladimir Putin, State
Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, Leader of Federal Council Valentina
Matvienko, and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
From: A. Papazian