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ALLIES IN TALKS: SARGSYAN-PUTIN MEETING PRODUCES LITTLE NEWS, SEEN AS CRUCIAL FOR FURTHER ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN TIES
ANALYSIS | 13.03.13 | 15:29
Photo: www.president.am
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The presidents of Armenia and Russia, Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir
Putin, met in Moscow on Tuesday for what many experts said were
crucial talks between the two allies.
The meeting had been expected to discuss a wide range of issues. But
no statements were issued after what was a closed-door discussion.
The two leaders made comments for the press only before going into
talks that reportedly lasted for about an hour.
Sargsyan, who won reelection in a disputed ballot last month, said
it was natural for him to make his first foreign trip to Russia,
a country that is an ally of Armenia, and Putin, for his part, again
congratulated the Armenian leader on his "convincing" victory.
Remarkably, however, Sargsyan thanked Putin for "good progress in
the military sphere" since their last meeting. What exactly he meant
is not clear yet. The last time Sargsyan and Putin met was on the
sidelines of a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) in Moscow last December and during that gathering the Armenian
leader stated that CSTO-member countries should not be arming regional
countries that openly threaten CSTO members with a war.
Russia is known to have supplied new types of weapons to Azerbaijan,
which is in conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Whether it
means that Russia promised not to supply weapons to Baku or increase
military assistance for Armenia is yet unclear.
It is noteworthy that during the exchange of brief greetings for the
press the two leaders said nothing about integration processes in
the post-Soviet space, even though experts had expected Putin to use
the meeting to push for Armenia's accession to the Customs Union -
an economic alliance of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan that Moscow
regards as a platform for a deeper integration of post-Soviet states
in the form of a so-called Eurasian Union. Such a conversation is most
likely to have taken place, but the sides preferred not reporting on
it, in particular on whether the Armenian leader accepted or rejected
the offer.
Russia has declared integration processes in the post-Soviet territory
to be the imperative of its foreign policy. But it has made little
progress in this direction lately as most former Soviet countries
appear reluctant to return to a Soviet Union model and, furthermore,
are now seeking to integrate with the European Union. Still,
Russia strongly hinders such European integration aspirations of
former Soviet countries, using old instruments, such as natural
gas supplies, military bases, unresolved conflicts, arms supplies,
as levers of pressure.
The issue of the natural gas price for Armenia is also likely to have
been on the agenda of the Moscow meeting between Sargsyan and Putin.
And the Armenian leader perhaps meant the price for this vital fuel
for Armenia when he spoke about expectations of "Russian assistance
in economic matters." Some analysts in Yerevan also believe that
Armenia is likely to ask Russia for another credit. A few years ago
Moscow issued a loan of $500 million to Armenia to deal with the
consequences of a global economic crisis.
But the most intriguing questions that had been expected to come up
during the Moscow meeting of the two leaders were perhaps the opening
of the Abkhazian section of the railway that restore connection between
Armenia and Russia and the opening of an airport near the Karabakh
capital of Stepanakert, which is being opposed by Azerbaijan today.
It is remarkable that Abkhazian President Alexander Ankvamb was
also in Moscow on that same day and also met with Putin. No other
particulars related to the matter were reported immediately.
Equally important was the question of possible Russian security
guarantees for the opening of the Stepanakert airport. Earlier this
month Russian General Vladimir Shamanov said that in the event of
crises Russian assault troops incorporated in CSTO forces could be
deployed in countries that are members of the defense pact. In Armenia,
it was also taken as possible assistance in the event of Azerbaijan's
attempts to thwart flights from and to the airport in Karabakh.
From: A. Papazian
ANALYSIS | 13.03.13 | 15:29
Photo: www.president.am
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The presidents of Armenia and Russia, Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir
Putin, met in Moscow on Tuesday for what many experts said were
crucial talks between the two allies.
The meeting had been expected to discuss a wide range of issues. But
no statements were issued after what was a closed-door discussion.
The two leaders made comments for the press only before going into
talks that reportedly lasted for about an hour.
Sargsyan, who won reelection in a disputed ballot last month, said
it was natural for him to make his first foreign trip to Russia,
a country that is an ally of Armenia, and Putin, for his part, again
congratulated the Armenian leader on his "convincing" victory.
Remarkably, however, Sargsyan thanked Putin for "good progress in
the military sphere" since their last meeting. What exactly he meant
is not clear yet. The last time Sargsyan and Putin met was on the
sidelines of a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) in Moscow last December and during that gathering the Armenian
leader stated that CSTO-member countries should not be arming regional
countries that openly threaten CSTO members with a war.
Russia is known to have supplied new types of weapons to Azerbaijan,
which is in conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Whether it
means that Russia promised not to supply weapons to Baku or increase
military assistance for Armenia is yet unclear.
It is noteworthy that during the exchange of brief greetings for the
press the two leaders said nothing about integration processes in
the post-Soviet space, even though experts had expected Putin to use
the meeting to push for Armenia's accession to the Customs Union -
an economic alliance of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan that Moscow
regards as a platform for a deeper integration of post-Soviet states
in the form of a so-called Eurasian Union. Such a conversation is most
likely to have taken place, but the sides preferred not reporting on
it, in particular on whether the Armenian leader accepted or rejected
the offer.
Russia has declared integration processes in the post-Soviet territory
to be the imperative of its foreign policy. But it has made little
progress in this direction lately as most former Soviet countries
appear reluctant to return to a Soviet Union model and, furthermore,
are now seeking to integrate with the European Union. Still,
Russia strongly hinders such European integration aspirations of
former Soviet countries, using old instruments, such as natural
gas supplies, military bases, unresolved conflicts, arms supplies,
as levers of pressure.
The issue of the natural gas price for Armenia is also likely to have
been on the agenda of the Moscow meeting between Sargsyan and Putin.
And the Armenian leader perhaps meant the price for this vital fuel
for Armenia when he spoke about expectations of "Russian assistance
in economic matters." Some analysts in Yerevan also believe that
Armenia is likely to ask Russia for another credit. A few years ago
Moscow issued a loan of $500 million to Armenia to deal with the
consequences of a global economic crisis.
But the most intriguing questions that had been expected to come up
during the Moscow meeting of the two leaders were perhaps the opening
of the Abkhazian section of the railway that restore connection between
Armenia and Russia and the opening of an airport near the Karabakh
capital of Stepanakert, which is being opposed by Azerbaijan today.
It is remarkable that Abkhazian President Alexander Ankvamb was
also in Moscow on that same day and also met with Putin. No other
particulars related to the matter were reported immediately.
Equally important was the question of possible Russian security
guarantees for the opening of the Stepanakert airport. Earlier this
month Russian General Vladimir Shamanov said that in the event of
crises Russian assault troops incorporated in CSTO forces could be
deployed in countries that are members of the defense pact. In Armenia,
it was also taken as possible assistance in the event of Azerbaijan's
attempts to thwart flights from and to the airport in Karabakh.
From: A. Papazian