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MOSCOW VISIT: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT FACES SERIOUS TALK AND HARD CHOICES ON TRIP TO RUSSIA
Politics | 19.12.12 | 13:11
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Today Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is meeting his Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the sidelines of a meeting
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Council hosted
by the Russian capital.
Armenian experts have no doubt that Moscow will do everything to
prevent Armenia from signing an association agreement with the European
Union. On December 17, Armenia and the EU signed an agreement on visa
facilitation, while an Association Agreement and an agreement on the
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area are expected to be signed as
early as in November 2013. Before that, Putin is sure to be trying
to win Armenia over.
The difference between European integration and accession to
the Russia-dominated Customs Union is primarily in the methods of
integration. While Armenia is being coerced to sign up to the Customs
Union and methods like raising the price of natural gas and others
are being used to ensure that move, the South Caucasus country seems
to be voluntarily choosing integration with Europe, consenting to
meeting the strictest requirement along this path.
A few days before the CSTO summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov visited Uzbekistan, where he tried to persuade Uzbek President
Islam Karimov to annul his country's withdrawal from the CSTO. But
Karimov did not agree and all Lavrov could say is that Uzbekistan
will still remain an ally of Moscow.
A day before the summit, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych also
canceled his visit to Moscow. It had been announced before that
Yanukovych and Putin would discuss natural gas prices and Russia
would make a discount for Ukraine in exchange for Yanukovych's signing
some documents related to the Customs Union. But instead reports have
appeared about Ukraine's intention to sign an Association Agreement
with the EU soon.
A couple of days before the summit, Belarus President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka managed to get another major loan to Minsk from Moscow.
And, as analysts say, he had been blackmailing Moscow with his
intention to pull out of the Customs Union and start looking west,
to Europe.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan
Fule, speaking at a press conference following the meeting of the
Armenia-EU summit in Brussels, noted Armenia's efforts in the field of
governance and human rights and said that lack of judicial independence
and corruption remained problems for the South Caucasus country.
He stressed that in order to achieve a successful outcome that would
allow the use of the full potential of relations between Armenia and
the EU, efforts were required for extensive reforms next year.
At the same time, in Armenia some local analysts predict pressure on
Sargsyan to sign some documents pledging to work more closely with
the Customs Union. That the Customs Union wanted to sign documents on
cooperation with Armenia in early 2013 was mentioned by chairman of
the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Viktor Khristenko,
who was in Armenia in early December.
"During the meeting with the President of Armenia and the Prime
Minister, when we discussed formats of cooperation, we agreed that we
will be preparing a document on cooperation between the Government
of Armenia and the EEC. Now we are working on this document. It is
likely to be signed at the beginning of next year," he said.
Speaking on the subject of future agreements with Armenia, Khristenko
said that they will also be based in the area of competence of the
Eurasian Economic Commission. "Today, we have in our competence
everything related to trade policy, tariff and non-tariff measures,
measures of technical regulations, safeguards, etc.," he said.
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/42126/serzh_sargsyan_visit_moscow_csto_summit
From: A. Papazian
Politics | 19.12.12 | 13:11
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Today Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is meeting his Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the sidelines of a meeting
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Council hosted
by the Russian capital.
Armenian experts have no doubt that Moscow will do everything to
prevent Armenia from signing an association agreement with the European
Union. On December 17, Armenia and the EU signed an agreement on visa
facilitation, while an Association Agreement and an agreement on the
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area are expected to be signed as
early as in November 2013. Before that, Putin is sure to be trying
to win Armenia over.
The difference between European integration and accession to
the Russia-dominated Customs Union is primarily in the methods of
integration. While Armenia is being coerced to sign up to the Customs
Union and methods like raising the price of natural gas and others
are being used to ensure that move, the South Caucasus country seems
to be voluntarily choosing integration with Europe, consenting to
meeting the strictest requirement along this path.
A few days before the CSTO summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov visited Uzbekistan, where he tried to persuade Uzbek President
Islam Karimov to annul his country's withdrawal from the CSTO. But
Karimov did not agree and all Lavrov could say is that Uzbekistan
will still remain an ally of Moscow.
A day before the summit, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych also
canceled his visit to Moscow. It had been announced before that
Yanukovych and Putin would discuss natural gas prices and Russia
would make a discount for Ukraine in exchange for Yanukovych's signing
some documents related to the Customs Union. But instead reports have
appeared about Ukraine's intention to sign an Association Agreement
with the EU soon.
A couple of days before the summit, Belarus President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka managed to get another major loan to Minsk from Moscow.
And, as analysts say, he had been blackmailing Moscow with his
intention to pull out of the Customs Union and start looking west,
to Europe.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan
Fule, speaking at a press conference following the meeting of the
Armenia-EU summit in Brussels, noted Armenia's efforts in the field of
governance and human rights and said that lack of judicial independence
and corruption remained problems for the South Caucasus country.
He stressed that in order to achieve a successful outcome that would
allow the use of the full potential of relations between Armenia and
the EU, efforts were required for extensive reforms next year.
At the same time, in Armenia some local analysts predict pressure on
Sargsyan to sign some documents pledging to work more closely with
the Customs Union. That the Customs Union wanted to sign documents on
cooperation with Armenia in early 2013 was mentioned by chairman of
the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Viktor Khristenko,
who was in Armenia in early December.
"During the meeting with the President of Armenia and the Prime
Minister, when we discussed formats of cooperation, we agreed that we
will be preparing a document on cooperation between the Government
of Armenia and the EEC. Now we are working on this document. It is
likely to be signed at the beginning of next year," he said.
Speaking on the subject of future agreements with Armenia, Khristenko
said that they will also be based in the area of competence of the
Eurasian Economic Commission. "Today, we have in our competence
everything related to trade policy, tariff and non-tariff measures,
measures of technical regulations, safeguards, etc.," he said.
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/42126/serzh_sargsyan_visit_moscow_csto_summit
From: A. Papazian