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ARMENIA LOOKS TO RUSSIA FOR SUPPORT
The Moscow Times, Russia
Feb 20 2013
By Ivan Nechepurenko
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, re-elected in a landslide victory
Monday, is expected to keep the promotion of Russian ties a priority
during his second five-year term, as his country moves closer to
clinching an Association Agreement with the European Union.
Flare-ups in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, seized by Armenia
in the early 1990s but still considered part of Azerbaijan, have left
Armenia seeking Russian support in peace talks. Gunfire exchanges
along Nagorno-Karabakh's border with greater Azerbaijan escalated in
the run-up to the election.
Sargsyan, who was born in Nagorno-Karabakh's capital and largest city,
Stepanakert, "sees the Russian-Armenian alliance as the main pillar
of Armenia's security," said Simon Saradzhyan, a research fellow
at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. "The partnership has a
stabilizing impact on the region if only because it helps to deter
Azerbaijan from waging a war over Nagorno-Karabakh."
"Russia also benefits from this partnership because the latter enables
Moscow to project influence in the region as well as limit influence
of other external stakeholders," he added.
"While Russia's relations with Georgia have somewhat improved under
[recently elected Prime Minister] Bidzina Ivanishvili, [President]
Ilham Aliyev's Azerbaijan is increasingly reluctant to follow Moscow's
lead, as demonstrated by Baku's decision to force the Russian military
withdraw from the early warning radar at Gabala by demanding an
exorbitantly high lease payment."
Armenia, which borders Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey, was one
of the first countries that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
visited after being appointed in November. It was recently announced
that Russia will sign a new agreement on military-technical cooperation
with Armenia.
With both Turkey's and Azerbaijan's borders closed to Armenia -
Turkey and Armenia have clashed over recognition of genocide of ethnic
Armenians in Turkey during World War I - and Iran being economically
weakened by sanctions from Western powers, landlocked Armenia finds
itself heavily dependent on its former Soviet master, Russia.
Armenia has been cautious about European integration but is expected
to sign an EU Association Agreement this November.
After a Jan. 9 meeting between EU Commissioner Stefan Fule and the
president of the Armenian National Assembly, Hovik Abrahamyan, Fule
emphasized in a statement that "it is in the EU's interest to see
good Armenian-Russian relations; they can in turn benefit also from
Armenia's partnership with the EU."
But Felix Stanevsky, head of the Caucasus Department at the CIS
Institute, believes that the West is pushing Armenia "too much" toward
European integration and "is demanding that Armenia make a definite
choice between integration with Europe and fostering ties with Russia."
"Armenians themselves who decide the fate of their country," he said,
adding that the West was violating standards of diplomacy.
Russia has repeatedly tried to lure Armenia into its Customs Union
with Belarus and Kazakhstan. But Armenia has been reluctant, saying
its national economic structure does not complement that of the
energy-dependent union.
Edgar Vardanian, an expert at the Armenian Center for National and
International Studies, thinks that Russia will continue to lead
Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks as a member of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group, specifically
established to deal with the territorial conflict.
In Vardanian's opinion, Armenia will continue to have very strong
ties with Moscow. At the same time, he believes that Russia "should
try to foster development in the whole region, instead of pursuing
separate policies with Baku, Tbilisi and Yerevan."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/armenia-looks-to-russia-for-support/475821.html
From: A. Papazian
The Moscow Times, Russia
Feb 20 2013
By Ivan Nechepurenko
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, re-elected in a landslide victory
Monday, is expected to keep the promotion of Russian ties a priority
during his second five-year term, as his country moves closer to
clinching an Association Agreement with the European Union.
Flare-ups in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, seized by Armenia
in the early 1990s but still considered part of Azerbaijan, have left
Armenia seeking Russian support in peace talks. Gunfire exchanges
along Nagorno-Karabakh's border with greater Azerbaijan escalated in
the run-up to the election.
Sargsyan, who was born in Nagorno-Karabakh's capital and largest city,
Stepanakert, "sees the Russian-Armenian alliance as the main pillar
of Armenia's security," said Simon Saradzhyan, a research fellow
at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. "The partnership has a
stabilizing impact on the region if only because it helps to deter
Azerbaijan from waging a war over Nagorno-Karabakh."
"Russia also benefits from this partnership because the latter enables
Moscow to project influence in the region as well as limit influence
of other external stakeholders," he added.
"While Russia's relations with Georgia have somewhat improved under
[recently elected Prime Minister] Bidzina Ivanishvili, [President]
Ilham Aliyev's Azerbaijan is increasingly reluctant to follow Moscow's
lead, as demonstrated by Baku's decision to force the Russian military
withdraw from the early warning radar at Gabala by demanding an
exorbitantly high lease payment."
Armenia, which borders Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey, was one
of the first countries that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
visited after being appointed in November. It was recently announced
that Russia will sign a new agreement on military-technical cooperation
with Armenia.
With both Turkey's and Azerbaijan's borders closed to Armenia -
Turkey and Armenia have clashed over recognition of genocide of ethnic
Armenians in Turkey during World War I - and Iran being economically
weakened by sanctions from Western powers, landlocked Armenia finds
itself heavily dependent on its former Soviet master, Russia.
Armenia has been cautious about European integration but is expected
to sign an EU Association Agreement this November.
After a Jan. 9 meeting between EU Commissioner Stefan Fule and the
president of the Armenian National Assembly, Hovik Abrahamyan, Fule
emphasized in a statement that "it is in the EU's interest to see
good Armenian-Russian relations; they can in turn benefit also from
Armenia's partnership with the EU."
But Felix Stanevsky, head of the Caucasus Department at the CIS
Institute, believes that the West is pushing Armenia "too much" toward
European integration and "is demanding that Armenia make a definite
choice between integration with Europe and fostering ties with Russia."
"Armenians themselves who decide the fate of their country," he said,
adding that the West was violating standards of diplomacy.
Russia has repeatedly tried to lure Armenia into its Customs Union
with Belarus and Kazakhstan. But Armenia has been reluctant, saying
its national economic structure does not complement that of the
energy-dependent union.
Edgar Vardanian, an expert at the Armenian Center for National and
International Studies, thinks that Russia will continue to lead
Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks as a member of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group, specifically
established to deal with the territorial conflict.
In Vardanian's opinion, Armenia will continue to have very strong
ties with Moscow. At the same time, he believes that Russia "should
try to foster development in the whole region, instead of pursuing
separate policies with Baku, Tbilisi and Yerevan."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/armenia-looks-to-russia-for-support/475821.html
From: A. Papazian