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AHEAD OF SUMMIT: SPECULATION EMERGES ABOUT ANOTHER DELAY IN ARMENIA'S ACCESSION TO EEU
ANALYSIS | 08.10.14 | 10:30
Photo: www.mil.am
CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha in the Armenian-Azerbaijan
state border zone
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN ArmeniaNow correspondent
The summit of the CIS and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is
due to be held in the Belarus capital of Minsk on October 10 and
Armenia may formally join the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) during
this gathering. However, there are more and more indications that
this act may again be delayed.
The official report of the Kremlin that describes in detail the matters
that Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to discuss at the summit
has no mention of Armenia's accession. But the presidents of Russia
and Belarus, instead, spoke about "the expansion of the EEU due to
the accession of Armenia" in their telephone conversation on October 7.
There are several factors that could indicate the possible delay of
Armenia's signing the membership treaty. Four days before the summit
CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha made a surprise visit to
Armenia. Moreover, the visit was a purposeful one - "the study of
the situation at the state borders of CSTO member states, which
has recently escalated." Together with Armenian Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan, Bordyuzha visited the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
and talking to media acknowledged that the situation is controlled
by the Armenian army.
Armenian experts remind that in Armenia's Eurasian integration there
is an open question of the border between Armenia and Karabakh. The
presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan do not hide their position,
stating that Armenia may join the EEU only within its internationally
recognized borders, i.e. without Karabakh. This implies that
customs checkpoints should be placed at the border between Armenia
and Karabakh. Armenia categorically insists on an open border with
Karabakh and this could become an insurmountable obstacle.
And, apparently, the matter concerns not only some customs houses,
but also deployment of some troops. Some media in Armenia have
speculated that Bordyuzha's visit is linked to the desire of the
CSTO to introduce "peacekeeping" forces and deploy them either on
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border or on the border between Armenia
and Karabakh.
Receiving Bordyuzha, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said
rather harshly that "the positions of a number of CSTO partners
on issues being of paramount importance to allies, particularly on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, expressed in different international
platforms, do not correspond to the common spirit of the negotiation
process, contradict the statements and proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group, as well as to the documents endorsed within the framework of
the CSTO."
This was perceived by observers as rejection of the proposal to
introduce CSTO troops into Karabakh, and this could also be an obstacle
to Armenia's accession to the EEU.
Another barrier is that the process of ratification of the Treaty on
the establishment of the EEU has not been completed yet. Russia has
fully completed the process, Kazakhstan has ratified the treaty at the
level of the lower house of its parliament, scheduling consideration in
the upper house of the legislature for October 9. Belarus has postponed
the ratification in the lower house of parliament from 7 to 9 October,
as there were some issues to be settled with Russia. Late on October
7, however, it became known that the prime ministers of Russia and
Belarus had managed to agree regarding the issue of Russia's "fiscal
maneuver", because of which Belarus has suffered heavy losses.
This means that the lower house of the Belarusian parliament will
consider the ratification of the treaty on October 9, and, according to
the rules of the parliament, Belarus may not be able to fully ratify
the treaty by October 10. If so, Armenia would still have nothing to
accede to, as the Treaty must first be ratified by the three founding
nations - Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Thus, Armenia's joining the EEU as of now appears somewhat
problematic. But some experts in Yerevan do not exclude that pressure
will be put on Sargsyan at the last moment and the signing will
eventually take place on October 10.
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/57429/armenia_eurasian_union_minsk_summit_signing_member ship_treaty
ANALYSIS | 08.10.14 | 10:30
Photo: www.mil.am
CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha in the Armenian-Azerbaijan
state border zone
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN ArmeniaNow correspondent
The summit of the CIS and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is
due to be held in the Belarus capital of Minsk on October 10 and
Armenia may formally join the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) during
this gathering. However, there are more and more indications that
this act may again be delayed.
The official report of the Kremlin that describes in detail the matters
that Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to discuss at the summit
has no mention of Armenia's accession. But the presidents of Russia
and Belarus, instead, spoke about "the expansion of the EEU due to
the accession of Armenia" in their telephone conversation on October 7.
There are several factors that could indicate the possible delay of
Armenia's signing the membership treaty. Four days before the summit
CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha made a surprise visit to
Armenia. Moreover, the visit was a purposeful one - "the study of
the situation at the state borders of CSTO member states, which
has recently escalated." Together with Armenian Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan, Bordyuzha visited the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
and talking to media acknowledged that the situation is controlled
by the Armenian army.
Armenian experts remind that in Armenia's Eurasian integration there
is an open question of the border between Armenia and Karabakh. The
presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan do not hide their position,
stating that Armenia may join the EEU only within its internationally
recognized borders, i.e. without Karabakh. This implies that
customs checkpoints should be placed at the border between Armenia
and Karabakh. Armenia categorically insists on an open border with
Karabakh and this could become an insurmountable obstacle.
And, apparently, the matter concerns not only some customs houses,
but also deployment of some troops. Some media in Armenia have
speculated that Bordyuzha's visit is linked to the desire of the
CSTO to introduce "peacekeeping" forces and deploy them either on
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border or on the border between Armenia
and Karabakh.
Receiving Bordyuzha, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said
rather harshly that "the positions of a number of CSTO partners
on issues being of paramount importance to allies, particularly on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, expressed in different international
platforms, do not correspond to the common spirit of the negotiation
process, contradict the statements and proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group, as well as to the documents endorsed within the framework of
the CSTO."
This was perceived by observers as rejection of the proposal to
introduce CSTO troops into Karabakh, and this could also be an obstacle
to Armenia's accession to the EEU.
Another barrier is that the process of ratification of the Treaty on
the establishment of the EEU has not been completed yet. Russia has
fully completed the process, Kazakhstan has ratified the treaty at the
level of the lower house of its parliament, scheduling consideration in
the upper house of the legislature for October 9. Belarus has postponed
the ratification in the lower house of parliament from 7 to 9 October,
as there were some issues to be settled with Russia. Late on October
7, however, it became known that the prime ministers of Russia and
Belarus had managed to agree regarding the issue of Russia's "fiscal
maneuver", because of which Belarus has suffered heavy losses.
This means that the lower house of the Belarusian parliament will
consider the ratification of the treaty on October 9, and, according to
the rules of the parliament, Belarus may not be able to fully ratify
the treaty by October 10. If so, Armenia would still have nothing to
accede to, as the Treaty must first be ratified by the three founding
nations - Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Thus, Armenia's joining the EEU as of now appears somewhat
problematic. But some experts in Yerevan do not exclude that pressure
will be put on Sargsyan at the last moment and the signing will
eventually take place on October 10.
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/57429/armenia_eurasian_union_minsk_summit_signing_member ship_treaty