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EurasiaNet.org, NY
July 4 2013
Russia Announces Upgrades To CSTO Military Presence In Armenia
July 4, 2013 - 7:31am, by Joshua Kucera
Russia has promised to upgrade its military base in Armenia, while
also helping to bolster Armenia's own air forces, as controversy
continues to brew in Armenia over Moscow's huge weapons delivery to
foe Azerbaijan. It's not clear to what extent the former is tied to
the latter, but Armenian analysts say that Russia does appear to be
trying to assuage public opinion among Armenians stung by Russia's
apparent betrayal.
Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
Nikolay Bordyuzha was in Armenia last week, and though details were
scarce, he appeared to endorse a CSTO base in that country, as well as
creating a Caucasus-based CSTO air force. Reported RIA Novosti:
Modernization of Russia's 102nd Military Base at Gyumri, in northern
Armenia near its border with Turkey, and the airbase at Yerevan's
Erebuni Airport will begin this year and continue for several years,
Artur Bagdasaryan, head of the National Security Council, said after a
meeting with Nikolai Bordyuzha.
And from RFE/RL:
`Collective security forces are being formed in the South Caucasus
region where Armenia is the sole CSTO member state. Joint air forces
will also be set up here,' explained Baghdasarian.
`Armenia's air force will be expanded,' he told a joint news
conference with Bordyuzha. `Not only the air force but also the
air-defense system in general will be modernized and re-equipped. The
Russian military base [in Armenia] will also re-equipped. In terms of
modernization, 2014 will be a very important year.'
The Bug Pit spoke with Sergey Minasyan, a Yerevan-based analyst who
took part in last week's meetings, and asked him about what this all
meant. He said the plans for the joint air force weren't clear, in
particular where it would be based -- in the North Caucasus or in
Armenia. He speculated that CSTO military transport aircraft might be
based in the Russian Caucasus, while air defense units, as well as
possibly MiG-29 interceptors and surface-to-air missile units, would
be based in Armenia. He also guessed that the modernization of
Armenia's air force was likely related to this CSTO air unit, for
example helping to integrate Armenia's command-and-control system with
the CSTO one.
Those moves, in addition to the deployment of advanced missiles to
Russia's base at Gyumri, are at least in part an attempt to dissuade
Azerbaijan from attacking, Minasyan said. The political elite of
Armenia is not worried about the large Russian arms sales to
Azerbaijan, noting that it happens regularly and that Armenians have
never had illusions about Russian loyalty. (For more detailed analysis
of Armenian policy regarding Russian arms sales to Azerbaijan, see
this very smart interview with Emil Sanamyan on Voice of America.)
Nevertheless, the visit of Bordyuzha and other top Russian military
officials to Yerevan last week was a sign that "Russia knows it needed
to do something visible" to reassure Armenians of the Kremlin's
support, Minasyan said.
It appears that this could be a roughly analogous development to the
basing of joint CSTO air forces in Kyrgyzstan. But we'll have to wait
for more details.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67216
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
July 4 2013
Russia Announces Upgrades To CSTO Military Presence In Armenia
July 4, 2013 - 7:31am, by Joshua Kucera
Russia has promised to upgrade its military base in Armenia, while
also helping to bolster Armenia's own air forces, as controversy
continues to brew in Armenia over Moscow's huge weapons delivery to
foe Azerbaijan. It's not clear to what extent the former is tied to
the latter, but Armenian analysts say that Russia does appear to be
trying to assuage public opinion among Armenians stung by Russia's
apparent betrayal.
Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
Nikolay Bordyuzha was in Armenia last week, and though details were
scarce, he appeared to endorse a CSTO base in that country, as well as
creating a Caucasus-based CSTO air force. Reported RIA Novosti:
Modernization of Russia's 102nd Military Base at Gyumri, in northern
Armenia near its border with Turkey, and the airbase at Yerevan's
Erebuni Airport will begin this year and continue for several years,
Artur Bagdasaryan, head of the National Security Council, said after a
meeting with Nikolai Bordyuzha.
And from RFE/RL:
`Collective security forces are being formed in the South Caucasus
region where Armenia is the sole CSTO member state. Joint air forces
will also be set up here,' explained Baghdasarian.
`Armenia's air force will be expanded,' he told a joint news
conference with Bordyuzha. `Not only the air force but also the
air-defense system in general will be modernized and re-equipped. The
Russian military base [in Armenia] will also re-equipped. In terms of
modernization, 2014 will be a very important year.'
The Bug Pit spoke with Sergey Minasyan, a Yerevan-based analyst who
took part in last week's meetings, and asked him about what this all
meant. He said the plans for the joint air force weren't clear, in
particular where it would be based -- in the North Caucasus or in
Armenia. He speculated that CSTO military transport aircraft might be
based in the Russian Caucasus, while air defense units, as well as
possibly MiG-29 interceptors and surface-to-air missile units, would
be based in Armenia. He also guessed that the modernization of
Armenia's air force was likely related to this CSTO air unit, for
example helping to integrate Armenia's command-and-control system with
the CSTO one.
Those moves, in addition to the deployment of advanced missiles to
Russia's base at Gyumri, are at least in part an attempt to dissuade
Azerbaijan from attacking, Minasyan said. The political elite of
Armenia is not worried about the large Russian arms sales to
Azerbaijan, noting that it happens regularly and that Armenians have
never had illusions about Russian loyalty. (For more detailed analysis
of Armenian policy regarding Russian arms sales to Azerbaijan, see
this very smart interview with Emil Sanamyan on Voice of America.)
Nevertheless, the visit of Bordyuzha and other top Russian military
officials to Yerevan last week was a sign that "Russia knows it needed
to do something visible" to reassure Armenians of the Kremlin's
support, Minasyan said.
It appears that this could be a roughly analogous development to the
basing of joint CSTO air forces in Kyrgyzstan. But we'll have to wait
for more details.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67216
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress