Tweet
EurasiaNet.org, NY
Oct 5 2012
Armenia Accepts Russian Veto On Foreign Military Cooperation
October 5, 2012 - 8:12am, by Joshua Kucera
Armenia has ratified a protocol that would allow Russia a veto over
any foreign military installations in its country, but not without
some grumbling. An agreement reached last year by the Collective
Security Treaty Organization allows any CSTO member to have a say in
whether another member can host a foreign military base. This week,
Armenia's parliament ratified that agreement, but with some lawmakers
complaining that it infringed on the country's sovereignty, and the
parliament's second-largest bloc abstaining from the vote, reports
ArmeniaNow:
On October 4, the Parliament ratified the Protocol on the Location of
Military Installations in Collective Security Treaty Organization
(OSCE) Member Countries that was signed still in December 2011 and
under which Armenia is not entitled to host military forces or other
infrastructure of other states without the permission of the CSTO...
Opposition Heritage faction MP Alexander Arzumanyan, who represents
the Free Democrats party and served as Armenia's minister of foreign
affairs in the 1990s, said during the debate in the National Assembly
that the Protocol limits Armenia's sovereign rights and humiliates the
nation's dignity. In the end, only five lawmakers in the 131-member
body, including Arzumanyan, voted against the ratification. The second
largest faction in the Armenian parliament, Prosperous Armenia [which
holds 37 seats], opted out of the vote.
In addition to Armenia, the CSTO includes Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, but is dominated by Russia. It doesn't
seem likely that Armenia would host any other country's military, but
it is nevertheless a pretty extraordinary abdication of sovereignty.
Armenia, though, a relatively democratic country in the CSTO (not a
high standard in this club) is in a somewhat unique position to have
some public debate on it, even if the protocol was eventually passed.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66006
Oct 5 2012
Armenia Accepts Russian Veto On Foreign Military Cooperation
October 5, 2012 - 8:12am, by Joshua Kucera
Armenia has ratified a protocol that would allow Russia a veto over
any foreign military installations in its country, but not without
some grumbling. An agreement reached last year by the Collective
Security Treaty Organization allows any CSTO member to have a say in
whether another member can host a foreign military base. This week,
Armenia's parliament ratified that agreement, but with some lawmakers
complaining that it infringed on the country's sovereignty, and the
parliament's second-largest bloc abstaining from the vote, reports
ArmeniaNow:
On October 4, the Parliament ratified the Protocol on the Location of
Military Installations in Collective Security Treaty Organization
(OSCE) Member Countries that was signed still in December 2011 and
under which Armenia is not entitled to host military forces or other
infrastructure of other states without the permission of the CSTO...
Opposition Heritage faction MP Alexander Arzumanyan, who represents
the Free Democrats party and served as Armenia's minister of foreign
affairs in the 1990s, said during the debate in the National Assembly
that the Protocol limits Armenia's sovereign rights and humiliates the
nation's dignity. In the end, only five lawmakers in the 131-member
body, including Arzumanyan, voted against the ratification. The second
largest faction in the Armenian parliament, Prosperous Armenia [which
holds 37 seats], opted out of the vote.
In addition to Armenia, the CSTO includes Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, but is dominated by Russia. It doesn't
seem likely that Armenia would host any other country's military, but
it is nevertheless a pretty extraordinary abdication of sovereignty.
Armenia, though, a relatively democratic country in the CSTO (not a
high standard in this club) is in a somewhat unique position to have
some public debate on it, even if the protocol was eventually passed.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66006