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ARMENIANS PROTEST PUTIN -- BUT NOT HIS MILITARY AID
EurasiaNet.org
Dec 3 2013
December 3, 2013 - 5:49am, by Joshua Kucera
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited his country's military base
in Gyumri, Armenia. (photos: kremlin.ru)
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited his country's military base
in Gyumri, Armenia, while unprecedented protests against Putin took
place in the capital, Yerevan. Protesters objected to Armenia's plan to
join the Russia-led Customs Union -- which they say Putin bullied their
president, Serzh Sargsyan, into -- and Russian pressure generally. But
one key element of the Russian-Armenian relationship remains relatively
unquestioned in Armenia: Russia's military role in the country.
After Russia scored some remarkable successes in getting ex-Soviet
republics Armenia and Ukraine to suspend their work toward integrating
with the European Union, it has faced a fierce backlash, most notably
in Kiev. But even the much smaller protests in Yerevan were remarkable
given Russia's role as Armenia's traditional protector against
neighboring, hostile Turkey and Azerbaijan. So it was probably no
coincidence that Putin chose as his entry point to Armenia the most
potent symbol of Russia's protective role, the military base at Gyumri.
"We believe that the presence of Russian troops on Armenian territory
helps strengthen stability and security in the South Caucasus,
and increases the level of practical cooperation between Russia and
Armenia - both CSTO members - in military and technical spheres,"
Putin said during his visit.
Putin's visit took place against the backdrop of a notable expansion
in Russia's military presence in Armenia. Just in the last couple of
weeks, Putin announced that Armenia would be more tightly integrated
into Russia's air defense system and news emerged that Russia plans
to add a helicopter squadron to its air forces in Armenia. And the
commander of the Gyumri base for the first time seemed to suggest that
Russia would fight Azerbaijan in the case of a renewal of fighting in
the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. (Though Russian Defense
Minister Sergey Shoigu later appeared to walk back those remarks.)
During his visit Putin promised that Armenia would get weapons
supplies at domestic Russian rates, though it's not clear how this
differs from current practice.
Armenia's halting attempts to move toward the EU this summer were
an attempt to "divide the military-security dimension with Russia
from political-economic integration with the EU and decrease the
dependence on Russia," Sergey Minasyan, a Yerevan-based analyst, told
The Bug Pit. That proved untenable when Russia started to press on its
ex-satellites' EU ambitions, he said. The decision to join the Customs
Union was based on a variety of factors, including the military ones
listed above, as well as economic ones like natural gas supplies and
dependence on Armenia diaspora remittances from Russia. So, Minasyan
said, "if Armenia escalated with Moscow on EU/Custom Union issues it
could damage or at least endanger all these issues."
And thus, unlike Ukraine, Armenia really does depend on Russia for its
security. Which explains (in part) why you have a million people on
the streets in Kiev and 1,000 in Yerevan -- and why those 1,000 don't
raise objections to Russia's military presence in their country. This
is a sensitive issue for Armenians -- and their numbers seem to be
increasing -- who want to reduce their country's dependence on Russia.
"As for the Trans-Caucasus region, Russia will never leave this
region. On the contrary, we will make our place here even stronger,"
Putin said in Gyumri. "We will strengthen our position here." In the
current context, it's not clear whether that was a threat or a promise.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67826
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
EurasiaNet.org
Dec 3 2013
December 3, 2013 - 5:49am, by Joshua Kucera
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited his country's military base
in Gyumri, Armenia. (photos: kremlin.ru)
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited his country's military base
in Gyumri, Armenia, while unprecedented protests against Putin took
place in the capital, Yerevan. Protesters objected to Armenia's plan to
join the Russia-led Customs Union -- which they say Putin bullied their
president, Serzh Sargsyan, into -- and Russian pressure generally. But
one key element of the Russian-Armenian relationship remains relatively
unquestioned in Armenia: Russia's military role in the country.
After Russia scored some remarkable successes in getting ex-Soviet
republics Armenia and Ukraine to suspend their work toward integrating
with the European Union, it has faced a fierce backlash, most notably
in Kiev. But even the much smaller protests in Yerevan were remarkable
given Russia's role as Armenia's traditional protector against
neighboring, hostile Turkey and Azerbaijan. So it was probably no
coincidence that Putin chose as his entry point to Armenia the most
potent symbol of Russia's protective role, the military base at Gyumri.
"We believe that the presence of Russian troops on Armenian territory
helps strengthen stability and security in the South Caucasus,
and increases the level of practical cooperation between Russia and
Armenia - both CSTO members - in military and technical spheres,"
Putin said during his visit.
Putin's visit took place against the backdrop of a notable expansion
in Russia's military presence in Armenia. Just in the last couple of
weeks, Putin announced that Armenia would be more tightly integrated
into Russia's air defense system and news emerged that Russia plans
to add a helicopter squadron to its air forces in Armenia. And the
commander of the Gyumri base for the first time seemed to suggest that
Russia would fight Azerbaijan in the case of a renewal of fighting in
the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. (Though Russian Defense
Minister Sergey Shoigu later appeared to walk back those remarks.)
During his visit Putin promised that Armenia would get weapons
supplies at domestic Russian rates, though it's not clear how this
differs from current practice.
Armenia's halting attempts to move toward the EU this summer were
an attempt to "divide the military-security dimension with Russia
from political-economic integration with the EU and decrease the
dependence on Russia," Sergey Minasyan, a Yerevan-based analyst, told
The Bug Pit. That proved untenable when Russia started to press on its
ex-satellites' EU ambitions, he said. The decision to join the Customs
Union was based on a variety of factors, including the military ones
listed above, as well as economic ones like natural gas supplies and
dependence on Armenia diaspora remittances from Russia. So, Minasyan
said, "if Armenia escalated with Moscow on EU/Custom Union issues it
could damage or at least endanger all these issues."
And thus, unlike Ukraine, Armenia really does depend on Russia for its
security. Which explains (in part) why you have a million people on
the streets in Kiev and 1,000 in Yerevan -- and why those 1,000 don't
raise objections to Russia's military presence in their country. This
is a sensitive issue for Armenians -- and their numbers seem to be
increasing -- who want to reduce their country's dependence on Russia.
"As for the Trans-Caucasus region, Russia will never leave this
region. On the contrary, we will make our place here even stronger,"
Putin said in Gyumri. "We will strengthen our position here." In the
current context, it's not clear whether that was a threat or a promise.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67826
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress