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PUTIN FACES PROTESTS AS HE WOOS ARMENIA
Reuters
Dec 2 2013
YEREVAN Mon Dec 2, 2013 8:33am EST
(Reuters) - About 500 people marched through the capital of Armenia on
Monday to denounce visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and to
protest against plans to join a Moscow-led customs union.
Some of the crowd in central Yerevan held banners declaring "Putin,
go home" or "No to the USSR", a reference to the Russian leader's
efforts to bind former Soviet republics together more closely in
economic and security alliances.
Putin flew to the South Caucasus country for talks on its decision
in September to join the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan, but began his visit in another city, Gyumri. He was due
in Yerevan later on Monday.
The rally in Yerevan followed much larger protests in Ukraine, which
suspended plans to sign a trade deal with the European Union last
week and decided to rebuild economic ties with Russia instead.
Kremlin critics in the West accuse Putin of putting pressure on
Ukraine, Armenia and other former Soviet republics to reject agreements
that would increase their integration with the EU.
Putin has made clear Moscow wants to increase its influence in the
strategic region sandwiched between Russia, Turkey, Iran and the oil
and gas deposits of the Caspian Sea basin.
"We are going to strengthen our position in the South Caucasus,
drawing on the best of what we have inherited from ancestors and
good relations with all countries in the region," Putin told a
Russian-Armenian regional forum in Gyumri.
"Participation in the Customs Union ... already is bringing Russia,
Kazakhstan and Belarus tangible dividends," he said.
Police blocked a central street as the demonstrators headed closer
to the headquarters of President Serzh Sarksyan's administration,
and protesters handed over a letter urging the government to renounce
its decision to join the customs union.
Russia is the biggest foreign investor in Armenia and its largest
trading partner. Bilateral trade grew 22 percent to $1.2 billion last
year. Most trade has been imports to Armenia.
Three years ago Russia extended its lease on a military base in the
landlocked, resource-poor nation of 3.2 million until 2044, ensuring
it maintains a firm foothold in the South Caucasus.
The region also includes Azerbaijan, which has been embroiled in
a territorial dispute with Armenia since the Soviet collapse, and
Georgia, with which Russia fought a five-day war in 2008.
(Reporting by Hasmik Mrktchyan and Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Steve
Gutterman and Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/02/us-armenia-russia-idUSBRE9B10FM20131202
Reuters
Dec 2 2013
YEREVAN Mon Dec 2, 2013 8:33am EST
(Reuters) - About 500 people marched through the capital of Armenia on
Monday to denounce visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and to
protest against plans to join a Moscow-led customs union.
Some of the crowd in central Yerevan held banners declaring "Putin,
go home" or "No to the USSR", a reference to the Russian leader's
efforts to bind former Soviet republics together more closely in
economic and security alliances.
Putin flew to the South Caucasus country for talks on its decision
in September to join the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan, but began his visit in another city, Gyumri. He was due
in Yerevan later on Monday.
The rally in Yerevan followed much larger protests in Ukraine, which
suspended plans to sign a trade deal with the European Union last
week and decided to rebuild economic ties with Russia instead.
Kremlin critics in the West accuse Putin of putting pressure on
Ukraine, Armenia and other former Soviet republics to reject agreements
that would increase their integration with the EU.
Putin has made clear Moscow wants to increase its influence in the
strategic region sandwiched between Russia, Turkey, Iran and the oil
and gas deposits of the Caspian Sea basin.
"We are going to strengthen our position in the South Caucasus,
drawing on the best of what we have inherited from ancestors and
good relations with all countries in the region," Putin told a
Russian-Armenian regional forum in Gyumri.
"Participation in the Customs Union ... already is bringing Russia,
Kazakhstan and Belarus tangible dividends," he said.
Police blocked a central street as the demonstrators headed closer
to the headquarters of President Serzh Sarksyan's administration,
and protesters handed over a letter urging the government to renounce
its decision to join the customs union.
Russia is the biggest foreign investor in Armenia and its largest
trading partner. Bilateral trade grew 22 percent to $1.2 billion last
year. Most trade has been imports to Armenia.
Three years ago Russia extended its lease on a military base in the
landlocked, resource-poor nation of 3.2 million until 2044, ensuring
it maintains a firm foothold in the South Caucasus.
The region also includes Azerbaijan, which has been embroiled in
a territorial dispute with Armenia since the Soviet collapse, and
Georgia, with which Russia fought a five-day war in 2008.
(Reporting by Hasmik Mrktchyan and Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Steve
Gutterman and Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/02/us-armenia-russia-idUSBRE9B10FM20131202