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Important Support For Armenia
HAKOB BADALYAN
17:15 18/02/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/comments/view/28965
On February 12 in his annual State of the Union speech the U.S.
president Obama said that the government of the United States is ready
to negotiate a free trade area with the EU. "Tonight, I'm announcing
that we will launch talks on a comprehensive trans-Atlantic trade and
investment partnership with the European Union," he said.
On February 13 the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel
Barroso published the joint statement on launching negotiations
between the EU and the United States for the biggest free trade area
in the world.
The United States and the EU come up with an initiative which will
obviously compete with the idea of Eurasian integration offered by the
Russian president Putin. Although the intention of Washington and
Brussels will hardly be grounded by providing an alternative to
Putin's idea, it will, nevertheless, be an important alternative for
countries which are not excited about Putin's Eurasian integration and
are looking for ways and arguments to put this issue off.
I also mean Armenia the government of which is trying to sway Moscow
that economically it is not profitable because the rules of the game
are not in line with geography. Besides, integration with the
developed European economy is more attractive. Moscow continues to
demand Yerevan's loyalty and states that tailored rules may be written
to work out for geographic inconvenience. The concept of exclave was
introduced. However, Yerevan resists seriously therefore Putin has to
appeal to its law enforcement bodies, namely the Federal Security
Service to promote the Eurasian idea.
Earlier the ex-U.S. Secretary Clinton had stated a few weeks ago in
Dublin that the United States will do everything to prevent the
rebirth of the USSR under the name of Eurasian ideas. It was
attributed to the personal opinion of departing Clinton but the United
States did not dismiss this opinion officially and did not try to
soften it somehow.
Could the step of forming a trade area with the EU be one of the ways
of preventing the rebirth of the USSR? Of course, it can. The
initiative of the tandem Washington-Brussels is broader because there
is a need to stop not only the USSR-Eurasian but also Chinese economic
expansion. Besides being an attempt of addressing the economic crisis
the set up of a trade area is also an initiative aimed at imposing new
trade and economic rules on China and thereby controlling China's
economic growth.
No doubt Putin's idea of Eurasian integration is one of the targets.
It is to some extent a lifebelt which is thrown to those who reject
the Eurasian loop.
This lifebelt is also valuable because it is not an adequate
counteraction but an alternative to Putin's force method. An
alternative offer is made to set up the largest free trade area in the
world.
It would be difficult to argue why a state facing a problem of
economic development and seeking for secure future should prefer to
join a union based on Russia which depends heavily on oil and gas
rather than this area.
Russian experts have already expressed their dissatisfaction in the
Russian conspiracy style that Moscow had made a proposal to the EU but
Brussels refused whereas it is already negotiating with Washington.
Everything is clear. This is a big policy based on logic. First, while
Moscow makes economic proposals to the European Union, it also
directly or indirectly blackmails the EU by means of its gas pipes. It
is clear that one cannot form a joint space with the blackmailer.
Besides, what is more logical - set up a venture with a poor man who
borrows money from the bank risking paying the loan or with a rich
man?
Europe chooses the United States as a viable partner which outdoes it
not only by its scope and geopolitical power but also its achievements
and the state of the art.
Hence, the initiative of Washington and Brussels is convenient for
Armenia which has appeared under the Eurasian pressure both in terms
of time and content because Armenia would make a historical and fatal
mistake if it escaped the U.S.-EU negotiation and the prospect of
integration with the biggest free trade area in the world.
HAKOB BADALYAN
17:15 18/02/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/comments/view/28965
On February 12 in his annual State of the Union speech the U.S.
president Obama said that the government of the United States is ready
to negotiate a free trade area with the EU. "Tonight, I'm announcing
that we will launch talks on a comprehensive trans-Atlantic trade and
investment partnership with the European Union," he said.
On February 13 the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel
Barroso published the joint statement on launching negotiations
between the EU and the United States for the biggest free trade area
in the world.
The United States and the EU come up with an initiative which will
obviously compete with the idea of Eurasian integration offered by the
Russian president Putin. Although the intention of Washington and
Brussels will hardly be grounded by providing an alternative to
Putin's idea, it will, nevertheless, be an important alternative for
countries which are not excited about Putin's Eurasian integration and
are looking for ways and arguments to put this issue off.
I also mean Armenia the government of which is trying to sway Moscow
that economically it is not profitable because the rules of the game
are not in line with geography. Besides, integration with the
developed European economy is more attractive. Moscow continues to
demand Yerevan's loyalty and states that tailored rules may be written
to work out for geographic inconvenience. The concept of exclave was
introduced. However, Yerevan resists seriously therefore Putin has to
appeal to its law enforcement bodies, namely the Federal Security
Service to promote the Eurasian idea.
Earlier the ex-U.S. Secretary Clinton had stated a few weeks ago in
Dublin that the United States will do everything to prevent the
rebirth of the USSR under the name of Eurasian ideas. It was
attributed to the personal opinion of departing Clinton but the United
States did not dismiss this opinion officially and did not try to
soften it somehow.
Could the step of forming a trade area with the EU be one of the ways
of preventing the rebirth of the USSR? Of course, it can. The
initiative of the tandem Washington-Brussels is broader because there
is a need to stop not only the USSR-Eurasian but also Chinese economic
expansion. Besides being an attempt of addressing the economic crisis
the set up of a trade area is also an initiative aimed at imposing new
trade and economic rules on China and thereby controlling China's
economic growth.
No doubt Putin's idea of Eurasian integration is one of the targets.
It is to some extent a lifebelt which is thrown to those who reject
the Eurasian loop.
This lifebelt is also valuable because it is not an adequate
counteraction but an alternative to Putin's force method. An
alternative offer is made to set up the largest free trade area in the
world.
It would be difficult to argue why a state facing a problem of
economic development and seeking for secure future should prefer to
join a union based on Russia which depends heavily on oil and gas
rather than this area.
Russian experts have already expressed their dissatisfaction in the
Russian conspiracy style that Moscow had made a proposal to the EU but
Brussels refused whereas it is already negotiating with Washington.
Everything is clear. This is a big policy based on logic. First, while
Moscow makes economic proposals to the European Union, it also
directly or indirectly blackmails the EU by means of its gas pipes. It
is clear that one cannot form a joint space with the blackmailer.
Besides, what is more logical - set up a venture with a poor man who
borrows money from the bank risking paying the loan or with a rich
man?
Europe chooses the United States as a viable partner which outdoes it
not only by its scope and geopolitical power but also its achievements
and the state of the art.
Hence, the initiative of Washington and Brussels is convenient for
Armenia which has appeared under the Eurasian pressure both in terms
of time and content because Armenia would make a historical and fatal
mistake if it escaped the U.S.-EU negotiation and the prospect of
integration with the biggest free trade area in the world.