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YEREVAN IN THE CLUTCH OF GEOPOLITICAL POLES (SECOND ROUND)
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 20 2013
20 September 2013 - 10:44am
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
President Serzh Sargsyan's declaration about joining the Customs Union
did not put an end to geopolitical processes around Armenia. Moscow
won the first round of the struggle. The second round has already
started. It is peculiar with topicality of the favourite issue of
the West - the violation of human rights. Concerns about the problem
were expressed by the US Embassy in Armenia and Human Rights Watch,
urging the Armenian authorities to punish people responsible for
attacking civil activists.
The reaction of the Europeans was very harsh, in general. But the
violence targeted Russia, a country that, according to the EU, put
pressure on Armenia, threatening to escalate the situation in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. The European Parliament considers
pressure on any member of the Eastern Partnership program (Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus) unacceptable. The
countries are close to signing bilateral agreements on EU association.
Such evaluations and threats to alter the status quo of
Nagorno-Karabakh if Armenia takes the European path were taken
by Yerevan as a sign of intolerance between the West and Russia, a
recurrence of the Cold War. Armenia is an object in the clutch of two
poles. Using the awkward and hasty attempts by Yerevan to go for the
West, the Kremlin expanded its unmeasured influence on the little ally.
Stepan Grigoryan, head of the Analytical Center for Globalization and
Regional Cooperation, believes that, by deciding to join the Customs
Union, the Armenian authorities handed over the security of their
country to Russia: "The authorities hint that there are security
problems. I agree with them. Security is in danger after this step.
The most essential problems of Armenia will be resolved in Moscow from
now on. Secondly, we lose the chance of becoming a law-governed state."
Maybe Armenia should not have started the process of moving towards
the West to avoid the situation of being forced into the Customs
Union. Armenia was "asked" to join the Customs Union after numerous
declarations by high-ranking functionaries of the Republican Party
of Armenia. They said that Yerevan had taken the European path of
development. People, including Shavarsh Kocharyan (Vice Chairman of
the Republican Party, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia), praising
the association agreement, suddenly changed their attitude and became
devoted supporters of the Customs Union on September 3.
Political analyst Yervand Bozoyan, explaining the choice between the
EU and the Eurasian Union, noted that it was more of a geopolitical
choice than a system of values: "Our society has no problems with
choosing a system of values, because we are part of the European
system. De facto, Armenia was forced to make the choice of the Customs
Union." The political analyst assumes that Armenia, a state that has
no common borders with the Customs Union, will have serious problems,
including some in Nagorno-Karabakh: "It would be in the national,
state interests of Armenia to bring its legal acts closer to the
standards of members of the Customs Union, doing the same process
for the EU at the same time. This way we can become a link between
the West and Russia. Armenia was not ready to join a big system."
Therefore, Yerevan forced itself into the Customs Union, depriving
itself of a chance for manoeuvre. Meanwhile, Armenia's history has
examples when some countries patiently waiting for the right moment
made well-executed, rather than hasty steps towards the West, without
creating threats to its national security or relations with Russia.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/45332.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 20 2013
20 September 2013 - 10:44am
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
President Serzh Sargsyan's declaration about joining the Customs Union
did not put an end to geopolitical processes around Armenia. Moscow
won the first round of the struggle. The second round has already
started. It is peculiar with topicality of the favourite issue of
the West - the violation of human rights. Concerns about the problem
were expressed by the US Embassy in Armenia and Human Rights Watch,
urging the Armenian authorities to punish people responsible for
attacking civil activists.
The reaction of the Europeans was very harsh, in general. But the
violence targeted Russia, a country that, according to the EU, put
pressure on Armenia, threatening to escalate the situation in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. The European Parliament considers
pressure on any member of the Eastern Partnership program (Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus) unacceptable. The
countries are close to signing bilateral agreements on EU association.
Such evaluations and threats to alter the status quo of
Nagorno-Karabakh if Armenia takes the European path were taken
by Yerevan as a sign of intolerance between the West and Russia, a
recurrence of the Cold War. Armenia is an object in the clutch of two
poles. Using the awkward and hasty attempts by Yerevan to go for the
West, the Kremlin expanded its unmeasured influence on the little ally.
Stepan Grigoryan, head of the Analytical Center for Globalization and
Regional Cooperation, believes that, by deciding to join the Customs
Union, the Armenian authorities handed over the security of their
country to Russia: "The authorities hint that there are security
problems. I agree with them. Security is in danger after this step.
The most essential problems of Armenia will be resolved in Moscow from
now on. Secondly, we lose the chance of becoming a law-governed state."
Maybe Armenia should not have started the process of moving towards
the West to avoid the situation of being forced into the Customs
Union. Armenia was "asked" to join the Customs Union after numerous
declarations by high-ranking functionaries of the Republican Party
of Armenia. They said that Yerevan had taken the European path of
development. People, including Shavarsh Kocharyan (Vice Chairman of
the Republican Party, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia), praising
the association agreement, suddenly changed their attitude and became
devoted supporters of the Customs Union on September 3.
Political analyst Yervand Bozoyan, explaining the choice between the
EU and the Eurasian Union, noted that it was more of a geopolitical
choice than a system of values: "Our society has no problems with
choosing a system of values, because we are part of the European
system. De facto, Armenia was forced to make the choice of the Customs
Union." The political analyst assumes that Armenia, a state that has
no common borders with the Customs Union, will have serious problems,
including some in Nagorno-Karabakh: "It would be in the national,
state interests of Armenia to bring its legal acts closer to the
standards of members of the Customs Union, doing the same process
for the EU at the same time. This way we can become a link between
the West and Russia. Armenia was not ready to join a big system."
Therefore, Yerevan forced itself into the Customs Union, depriving
itself of a chance for manoeuvre. Meanwhile, Armenia's history has
examples when some countries patiently waiting for the right moment
made well-executed, rather than hasty steps towards the West, without
creating threats to its national security or relations with Russia.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/45332.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress