ARMENIA'S MEMBERSHIP IN CUSTOMS UNION INCREASES ITS PROSPERITY AND STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION: FORMER RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA SAYS
YEREVAN, September 12. / ARKA /. Armenia's readiness to join the
Customs Union meets its national interests, and will open up prospects
for its development, will increase its prosperity and strengthen
its position and prestige in the region and around the world, former
Russian ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko said today during
a Moscow-Yerevan video conference.
"It is elementary, and it is unclear on what Armenia's aspiration to
sign association agreement with the EU was based, which would block,
in my opinion, the only possible option for Yerevan to consolidate
its allied relations with Russia through the Eurasian process ,"
said Kovalenko.
The diplomat said he never doubted that Armenia would eventually
choose the Eurasian integration, noting that the allied relations
between Armenia and Russia are based not only on military-technical ,
trade and economic, but also on humanitarian cooperation.
"Humanitarian cooperation implies development of close human
relationships: it is the Russian language, mutual enrichment between
the two cultures, it is the planned opening of the branch of Moscow
State University in Armenia," said Kovalenko.
According to him , the creation of the Armenian branch of the
University will allow young people from the southern regions of
Russia to pursue higher education not in Moscow but in Armenia and
in the future , to stay at homeland and serve it. He also stressed
the importance of around 100 centers of Russian language in Armenia.
Director of the Caucasus Institute, Alexander Iskandaryan, said
Armenia and Russia are interconnected by many threads, and neither
side wants to cut them. "Russia is important for Armenia in terms of
its security. Armenia in turn has strategic significance for Russia
which wants to be present in the South Caucasus as a significant
force,' Iskandaryan said.
Director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute, Alexander
Makarov, added that the military- political cooperation has always
been a priority in relations between the two countries. "If we talk
about economic cooperation, Russian investors are the main investors
in Armenia, the Russian capital is present in almost all areas of
the economy", he said. -0-
16:58 12.09.2013
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/armenia_s_membership_in_customs_union_increases_it s_prosperity_and_strengthens_its_position_former_r/
YEREVAN, September 12. / ARKA /. Armenia's readiness to join the
Customs Union meets its national interests, and will open up prospects
for its development, will increase its prosperity and strengthen
its position and prestige in the region and around the world, former
Russian ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko said today during
a Moscow-Yerevan video conference.
"It is elementary, and it is unclear on what Armenia's aspiration to
sign association agreement with the EU was based, which would block,
in my opinion, the only possible option for Yerevan to consolidate
its allied relations with Russia through the Eurasian process ,"
said Kovalenko.
The diplomat said he never doubted that Armenia would eventually
choose the Eurasian integration, noting that the allied relations
between Armenia and Russia are based not only on military-technical ,
trade and economic, but also on humanitarian cooperation.
"Humanitarian cooperation implies development of close human
relationships: it is the Russian language, mutual enrichment between
the two cultures, it is the planned opening of the branch of Moscow
State University in Armenia," said Kovalenko.
According to him , the creation of the Armenian branch of the
University will allow young people from the southern regions of
Russia to pursue higher education not in Moscow but in Armenia and
in the future , to stay at homeland and serve it. He also stressed
the importance of around 100 centers of Russian language in Armenia.
Director of the Caucasus Institute, Alexander Iskandaryan, said
Armenia and Russia are interconnected by many threads, and neither
side wants to cut them. "Russia is important for Armenia in terms of
its security. Armenia in turn has strategic significance for Russia
which wants to be present in the South Caucasus as a significant
force,' Iskandaryan said.
Director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute, Alexander
Makarov, added that the military- political cooperation has always
been a priority in relations between the two countries. "If we talk
about economic cooperation, Russian investors are the main investors
in Armenia, the Russian capital is present in almost all areas of
the economy", he said. -0-
16:58 12.09.2013
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/armenia_s_membership_in_customs_union_increases_it s_prosperity_and_strengthens_its_position_former_r/