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SARGSYAN: ARMENIA JOINING EUROPE WAS NEVER IN THE CARDS
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 5 2014
February 5, 2014 - 8:25am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Defending his choice to enter a Moscow-centered Customs Union, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan commented on February 4 that Armenia joining
the European Union was never part of Yerevan's game-plan, Public
Radio of Armenia reported.
It has been lovely to work with the EU on democratization and human
rights and all, but Armenia never considered committing to a more
serious relationship, said Sargsyan, whose pro-Moscow choice last
September took Brussels by surprise.
Speaking about another Western club with which Yerevan has had a
standing flirtation, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Sargsyan
expressed dismay that NATO, as he put it, had allowed member Turkey,
Armenia's bete noire, to take certain undefined "actions" that damage
NATO's "security system."
That said, Armenia will not shy away from being "just friends" with
the EU and NATO. Still, its "steady" remains Russia; namely, Moscow's
Customs Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization. One provides
duty-free access to the vast and nearby Russian market, while the
other keeps hostile neighbor Azerbaijan at bay. (At least in theory. )
Yerevan announced on February 3 that it will complete the road map to
membership in the Customs Union by year-end, and set January 1, 2015
as the date for its trade-nuptials with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Yet, simple and down-to-the-earth as the logic for these plans may
seem to many, not all Armenians are ready to sign off on it. Last
week, a rally inspired by Ukraine's anti-Russian Euromaidan movement
took place in Yerevan and reportedly was the largest effort so far
against the Russian in Armenia's life.
Commemorating Serzh Niyoian, an ethnic Armenian activist who died
in the Ukrainian protests, protesters held banners reading "EU -
60 years of reality, CU - 0 years of experiment," the Kavkazsky Uzel
news site reported.
But, for now, despite occasional protests, Armenia appears to be far
less divided than Ukraine over this choice.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68007
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 5 2014
February 5, 2014 - 8:25am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Defending his choice to enter a Moscow-centered Customs Union, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan commented on February 4 that Armenia joining
the European Union was never part of Yerevan's game-plan, Public
Radio of Armenia reported.
It has been lovely to work with the EU on democratization and human
rights and all, but Armenia never considered committing to a more
serious relationship, said Sargsyan, whose pro-Moscow choice last
September took Brussels by surprise.
Speaking about another Western club with which Yerevan has had a
standing flirtation, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Sargsyan
expressed dismay that NATO, as he put it, had allowed member Turkey,
Armenia's bete noire, to take certain undefined "actions" that damage
NATO's "security system."
That said, Armenia will not shy away from being "just friends" with
the EU and NATO. Still, its "steady" remains Russia; namely, Moscow's
Customs Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization. One provides
duty-free access to the vast and nearby Russian market, while the
other keeps hostile neighbor Azerbaijan at bay. (At least in theory. )
Yerevan announced on February 3 that it will complete the road map to
membership in the Customs Union by year-end, and set January 1, 2015
as the date for its trade-nuptials with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Yet, simple and down-to-the-earth as the logic for these plans may
seem to many, not all Armenians are ready to sign off on it. Last
week, a rally inspired by Ukraine's anti-Russian Euromaidan movement
took place in Yerevan and reportedly was the largest effort so far
against the Russian in Armenia's life.
Commemorating Serzh Niyoian, an ethnic Armenian activist who died
in the Ukrainian protests, protesters held banners reading "EU -
60 years of reality, CU - 0 years of experiment," the Kavkazsky Uzel
news site reported.
But, for now, despite occasional protests, Armenia appears to be far
less divided than Ukraine over this choice.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68007