The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Military related news from Russia.

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Russia plans to raise defense expenditure by 50% in 3 years

Russia is planning to increase its spending on defense by 50% in the next three years, a senior MP said Tuesday. Russia's defense budget is believed to be less than a tenth of the United States', but the country's military expenditure has been steadily growing in the past few years. "According to a draft federal budget for 2009-2011, expenditure on national defense will increase in 2009 by 25.7% from 1.02 trillion rubles ($40 billion) to 1.28 trillion rubles ($51.3 billion) and would account for 14% of total budget spending," said Viktor Zavarzin, chairman of the Defense Committee in Russia's lower house of parliament. He also said that by 2011 the total defense expenditures would increase by 45.6% compared with 2008. A large portion of additional expenditures would go toward raising salaries and improving the living conditions of military personnel, he added. Russia is soon to adopt a new military doctrine that aims to transform the Armed Forces into a mobile and effective military force. Their structures will be "optimized" through the use of combined arms units performing similar tasks. President Dmitry Medvedev said last week that Russia would make the modernization of its nuclear deterrent and Armed Forces a priority in the decade up to 2020. "We must ensure air superiority, precision strikes at land and sea targets, and timely deployment of troops," Medvedev said. "We are planning to launch large-scale production of warships, primarily, nuclear submarines with cruise missiles and multi-purpose attack submarines." Russia's Defense Ministry earlier said it would spend around 1 trillion rubles ($40 billion) of federal budget funds in 2008, 20% more than in 2007, and that in 2008-10 military spending would account for 15.5-16% of total federal budget spending.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080930/117331145.html

New Russian Rapid Reaction Force

The Russian Defense Ministry intends to form Rapid Reaction Forces in the nearest future. They will consist of paratroopers, marines and special forces, according to Interfax AVN, citing defense sources. The formation of the forces is one of the urgent measures for the improvement of the Russian Armed Forces and is intended for the timely resistance to potential threats in any strategic area. The Rapid Reaction Forces will use 200-300 attack and army planes and helicopters that are organizational part of the Air Force tactical group. The collegium of the Defense Ministry will meet in Moscow on October 3 to discuss the organization and size of the forces and military issues connected with them.

Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p-13320/Russian_armed_forces/

India, Russia to develop 2 versions of 5th-generation fighter

Russia and India will jointly develop two versions of a new fifth-generation fighter, the head of an Indian defense company said on Monday. A Russian-Indian advanced multirole fighter is being developed by Sukhoi, which is part of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), along with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), under an intergovernmental agreement signed in October 2007. "The aircraft will have different wings, electronics and radars," HAL Chairman Ashok K. Baweja said after a meeting of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on military technical cooperation in New Delhi. He also said India will develop a two-seat version to meet the requirements of the Indian air superiority doctrine, while Russia will develop a single-seat fighter. Russia's Sukhoi aircraft maker earlier said it had started the construction of a prototype of the fifth-generation fighter, which will feature high maneuverability and stealth to ensure air superiority and precision in destroying ground and sea targets. The Russian version will be built at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft-manufacturing plant in Russia's Far East. Flight tests of the fifth-generation fighter will begin as early as 2009, and mass production of the aircraft may start by 2015, Sukhoi said. Russia's military cooperation with India goes back nearly half a century, and the country accounts for about 40% of Russian arms exports. Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission sessions are held annually and alternate between New Delhi and Moscow. The previous meeting took place in the Russian capital in October 2007.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20080929/117251004.html

Quite a Few Nations Interested in Russia's Iskander-E Missiles

Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and other states are interested in buying Russia’s Iskander-E tactical missile systems, Rosoboronexport Director at Large Nikolay Dimidyuk said, Interfax reported. “The demand has been noted in Syria. The Emirates takes much interest in it. Malaysia, India are interested in it very much,” Dimidyuk told reporters Wednesday. Other states are eyeing it as well, but off-the-record, the official added. Iskander-E has great export potential, Dimidyuk said. “This is truly a high-precision weapon. Missile defense systems can’t hit the Iskander missile,” the official specified, explaining that the missiles have a perplexed flying trajectory and are able to make anti-missile maneuvers, which prevents their hitting. Iskander can fire horizontally, which doesn’t unmask it, and has a number of other vital combat characteristics, Dimidyuk pointed out. Iskander is produced in two variants – Iskander-M for Russia’s Armed Forces and Iskander-E for the export to other countries. The export variant slightly differs from the systems made by order of the RF Defense Ministry. Iskander-E can hit targets at the range of up to 280km, striking two different targets at a minute interval. Its trajectory isn’t of ballistic nature and forecasting it would be very difficult for an enemy, the more so that the missile is controlled during all flight.

Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p-13322/Iskander-E_missile/

Sukhoi starts testing 2nd Su-35 fighter prototype

Russia's Sukhoi aircraft maker has started flight tests of the second Su-35 Flanker multirole fighter to expedite the completion of the testing program, the company said on Thursday. "The addition of the second aircraft to the testing program will speed up its completion and ensure the beginning of deliveries to our customers in 2011," Sukhoi said in a statement. The first Su-35 successfully completed its first 6-minute demonstration flight on July 7 and has made over 40 test flights since then. All of them confirmed superior technical and combat characteristics of the aircraft. The Su-35 fighter, powered by two 117S engines with thrust vectoring, combines high maneuverability and the capability to effectively engage several air targets simultaneously using both guided and unguided missiles and weapon systems. The aircraft features the new Irbis-E radar with a phased antenna array, which allows the pilot to detect and track up to 30 air targets, while simultaneously engaging up to eight targets. It is equipped with a 30-mm cannon with 150 rounds and can carry up to eight tons of combat payload on 12 external mounts. Sukhoi earlier said it plans to start deliveries of the new aircraft, billed as "4++ generation using fifth-generation technology," to the Russian Air Force and foreign clients in 2011 and produce Su-35s over a period of 10 years up to 2020. The company is planning to export at least 160 Su-35 fighters in the future to a number of countries, including India, Malaysia and Algeria.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081002/117390757.html

Russia's strategic bombers to drill with full combat payloads

Russian strategic bombers will conduct training flights with full combat payloads and live fire all cruise missiles on board for the first time in over two decades, an Air Force spokesman said. The live firing exercises in Russia's northern latitudes on October 6-12 are part of the Stability-2008 strategic maneuvers in various regions of Russia and Belarus with the goal of practicing strategic deployment of the Armed Forces, including the nuclear triad, to counter potential threats near the Russian border. "During these exercises, for the first time in many years, the crews of Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bombers will fly missions carrying the maximum combat payload and fire all the cruise missiles on board," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said. Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft can carry six and 12 Kh-55 (AS-15 Kent) long-range cruise missiles respectively. Drik said that the scope of the exercises would be unprecedented and involve, apart from the Tu-160s and Tu-95s, the Tu-22M3 Backfire strategic bombers, air superiority fighters, interceptors and aerial tankers. "The number and variety of aircraft involved in the drills shows the wide range of tasks that will be accomplished during the week-long exercise," the spokesman said. Former Air Force commander, General of the Army Pyotr Deynekin, said Russian Tu-95 bombers had conducted live firing of all their cruise missiles only once before, in 1984. "Tu-160 bombers have never done this because it is very expensive," the general said. According to various sources, in addition to 16 Tu-160 bombers the Russian Air Force currently has 40 Tu-95MS bombers and 141 Tu-22M3 bombers in service.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081002/117389135.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

well, I was curious about how zealous the American military is being these days with their tests of high tech weapons and military drills because my impression of Russia in the past while is that they are really pushing their limits with them since the collapse of the Soviet Union. I was just wondering how determined the US has been these days in pushing their own limits, though upon reflection I realize that it's quite a different situation for the US because they have already achieved military supremacy and didn't have to go through a spectacular setback like the Russians did during the collapse of the USSR.

Well, you can also look at it this way. The US has had and continues to have 'numerous' opportunities to "drill" its military and test its "high tech weapons," especially since the first Iraq war in 1991. As a matter of fact, for the past twenty plus years, since Reagan's invasion of Granada (1986?), that is exactly what the US has been doing - testing its weaponry and its military in various conflicts around the world. This militarism of the US was encouraged by the weakening of the Soviet Union and fueled by the booming global financial market throughout most of the past twenty somewhat years. Again, things may be changing now.

USA is probably working on a project to counter this now:

FATHER OF ALL BOMBS

The US has already tested and fielded a similar device called the - Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb: http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita.../moab-pics.htm

[Federate]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

The US has already tested and fielded a similar device called the - Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb: http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita.../moab-pics.htm

"Father of All Bombs" is the nickname of a Russian-made air-delivered/land activated thermobaric weapon that is claimed to be four times more powerful than the U.S. military's GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB or the "mother of all bombs"), making it the most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon in the world.

[ZORAVAR]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Fresh photos (October 2, 2008)
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First Flight of Second Su-35 Prototype

More photos at: http://www.knaapo.ru/rus/gallery/eve...-35_flight.wbp

KNAAPO (Komsomolsk Na Amur Aircraft Production Association) in the Far-East is the largest aircraft factory in Russia. It produces Sukhoi aircraft.

In the background of the 3rd photo, you can see the prototype of Sukhoi SSJ-100 civilian airliner. Our Armenian ARMAVIA airline has ordered 2 of these, also it has taken an option for 3 more. The first of these should be delivered during 2010.

By the way, Sukhoi is the largest aircraft making company in Russia. It's chairman is Mikhail Pogosyan...yes, he is Armenian.

Mikhail POGOSYAN (Boghossian)

M. Pogosyan in the KNAAPO assembly plant (A Sukhoi SSJ-100 being assembled for Aeroflot in the background)

[North Pole]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Celebrate October 4! The Day the Space Age Began....




The Dawning of the Space Age

On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union put the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, into Earth orbit and ushered in the modern space age. Sputnik (“traveling companion”) was spherical in shape with four antennas about 8 to 9 feet in length, 23 inches in diameter, and weighed 183.4 pounds. It circled the globe every 96 minutes at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour for 92 days until Jan. 4, 1958, when it re-entered the atmosphere and burned up.

Sputnik I orbited the Earth between 156 miles at its perigee (low point) and 560 miles at its apogee (high point). Its two radio transmitters marked the first time in history that man-made radio signals were sent from space to the Earth.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762820.html

Sputnik 1 (Russian: "Спутник-1" Russian pronunciation:, "Satellite-1", ПС-1 (PS-1, i.e. "Простейший Спутник-1", or Elementary Satellite-1)) was the first known artificial satellite of planet Earth. Launched into geocentric orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, it was the first of a series of satellites collectively known as the Sputnik program.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1

Go to http://www.history.nasa.gov/sputnik/sputnik.wav to listen to the sounds of Sputnik
or on YouTube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J4IbHZhhh4



Russian R-7 ICBM Launching Sputnik-1 from Baikonur launch site - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcex_MuBT7Y

An aluminum ball with four antennas and two radio transmitters inside, Sputnik I weighed 183 pounds and orbited Earth transmitting a beeping radio signal for 23 days before it ran out of batteries. It fell out of orbit and burned up upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere in January 1958.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec07/sputnik_10-03.html

Sputnik on the launch pad being prepared for liftoff


Following World War 2, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America embarked on rapid programmes of development in respect of missiles and nuclear weapons. While the US aimed its missile technology at the still-developing hydrogen bomb based on nuclear fusion, the USSR forged ahead on the basis of delivering the heavier fission bomb as used during the War. The result was the R-7 missile capable of carrying a 5 tonne warhead.

http://www.zarya.info/Diaries/Sputnik/Sputnik.php

"We Were First," trumpeted a headline in the popular Izvestia daily. "At 22:28 Moscow time on October 4, 1957, humanity entered a new space age. The Soviet Union sent the Earth's first artificial satellite into orbit."

Veterans of the Soviet space programme laid flowers near the Kremlin wall at the grave of Sergei Korolyov, the space pioneer who created Sputnik and whose identity was a state secret throughout his life.

A monument to the satellite, whose name means fellow traveller, was unveiled near Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Russia's space scientists, saying: "The launch of the Earth's first satellite was a truly historic event, which started a space age in the world."

Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov also praised a "tremendous" achievement.

The launch of Sputnik 1 was a huge propaganda coup for the Soviet Union in its rivalry with the United States and is being interpreted in the same vein 50 years later amid heightened Russian assertiveness.

http://www.physorg.com/news110701111.html

The Sputnik program was a series of unmanned space missions launched by the Soviet Union in late 1957 to demonstrate the viability of artificial satellites for exploring the upper atmosphere as part of the International Geophysical Year. It included Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to orbit earth.

The Russian name "Спутник" means literally "co-traveler","traveling companion" or "satellite".

http://www.google.com/search?q=sputnik+anniversary

[ZORAVAR]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Addition to North Pole's post about SPUTNIK.

On a more humorous note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-mZ9pKvCmk

[North Pole]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Addition to North Pole's post about SPUTNIK.

On a more humorous note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-mZ9pKvCmk

Yeah... The Yanks didn't manage to beat us, so all they can do is to make goofy videos now.

On October 4, 1957 Humanity had entered a Space Age








Russia's Sergei Korolev

From NASA:

Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age

History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.

That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.
The story begins in 1952, when the International Council of Scientific Unions decided to establish July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958, as the International Geophysical Year (IGY) because the scientists knew that the cycles of solar activity would be at a high point then. In October 1954, the council adopted a resolution calling for artificial satellites to be launched during the IGY to map the Earth's surface.

In July 1955, the White House announced plans to launch an Earth-orbiting satellite for the IGY and solicited proposals from various Government research agencies to undertake development. In September 1955, the Naval Research Laboratory's Vanguard proposal was chosen to represent the U.S. during the IGY.

The Sputnik launch changed everything. As a technical achievement, Sputnik caught the world's attention and the American public off-guard. Its size was more impressive than Vanguard's intended 3.5-pound payload. In addition, the public feared that the Soviets' ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S. Then the Soviets struck again; on November 3, Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika.

Immediately after the Sputnik I launch in October, the U.S. Defense Department responded to the political furor by approving funding for another U.S. satellite project. As a simultaneous alternative to Vanguard, Wernher von Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal team began work on the Explorer project.

On January 31, 1958, the tide changed, when the United States successfully launched Explorer I. This satellite carried a small scientific payload that eventually discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth, named after principal investigator James Van Allen. The Explorer program continued as a successful ongoing series of lightweight, scientifically useful spacecraft.

The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the "Space Act"), which created NASA as of October 1, 1958 from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies.

http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Colombian defense chief warns against Russian military presence

Colombia's defense minister said Saturday that Russia's increasing military presence in Latin America would lead to a return to the time of the Cold War. "Russia, with its 16,000 nuclear bombs, has a great desire to be a key player in the world. But its presence in the region will promote a return to the Cold War," Juan Manuel Santos said on Colombian radio Caracol. Speaking ahead of an official visit to Russia, he said the plans for Russian naval exercises in the Caribbean in November could "affect the balance of power in the region and its stability." "Russia has already shown its strength, sending two strategic bombers capable of carrying 16 nuclear warheads to our neighbor Venezuela." Santos said, adding that the region had not seen anything similar since the Cuban missile crisis four decades ago. "Who would have thought a couple of years ago that there would be a new center of the Cold War near us?" he asked. Two Russian strategic bombers recently carried out patrols along the coast of South America during a visit to Russia's chief ally on the continent, Venezuela, and a naval task force led by the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy is on its way to the country for joint exercises in the Caribbean. Santos said he hoped his visit to Russia, the first by a Colombian defense minister, would improve relations between the two countries, particularly with regard to Colombia's struggle against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20081004/117430854.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia ‘Not Worried’ About Armenia’s NATO, Georgia Ties

Russia is not alarmed by Armenia’s growing cooperation with NATO and welcomes its main regional ally’s efforts to expand economic ties with Georgia after the recent Russian-Georgian war, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. Visiting Yerevan, Lavrov also sounded cautiously optimistic about chances of a breakthrough in the Russian, U.S. and French mediators’ efforts to broker a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Sparking talk of a new Cold War, NATO and Russia effectively froze their relations following Moscow’s August military campaign against Georgia that was strongly condemned by the West. Armenia, which maintains close military ties with Russia, has made clear that this will not deter it from continuing to implement its Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO. Just last Monday Yerevan began hosting three-week NATO-led military exercises shunned by the Russians.

“We are not worried about that,” Lavrov told a joint news conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian. “We too maintain the formats of our relationships with NATO countries. We have a Russia-NATO council that continues to exist, even though some members of the alliance would like to suspend discussion of important issues.”

Lavrov said his country’s sole problem with NATO is the U.S.-led alliance’s readiness to continue to enlarge eastwards into what Russia calls “near abroad.” “We have no differences with our Armenian friends on what kind of a NATO we want to interact with and how,” he said. Lavrov added that Russia “can only welcome” Armenian-Georgian economic agreements that were reportedly reached during President Serzh Sarkisian’s visit to Tbilisi earlier this week. Sarkisian and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili, vilified by the Kremlin for his aggressive pro-Western policies, announced that their governments will join forces to build a mountain pass in western Georgia that will significantly shorten travel between Armenia and the Georgian Black Sea cost. The Georgian ports of Batumi and Poti process at least 70 percent of cargos shipped to and from Armenia. These vital supply routes were temporarily disrupted during the Russian-Georgian conflict.

“I hope that these agreements will prevent a repeat of situations during the Caucasian crisis that resulted in artificial obstacles on Georgian territory to the traffic of goods to Armenia,” Lavrov said. “I think these agreements will contribute to the economic development of our ally.”

The Georgia crisis was high on the agenda of his talks with Nalbandian and Sarkisian. Lavrov said the Armenian side reaffirmed its adherence to joint statements on the crisis issued by Armenia, Russia and four other ex-Soviet states aligned in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The CSTO criticized last month Georgia’s ill-fated August 8 attempt to win back South Ossetia but stopped short of denouncing it as an act of aggression. “The Armenian side voiced support for Russia’s active role in promoting peace and cooperation in the region,” Nalbandian told reporters, commenting on the talks. Armenia also hopes that Russia and Georgia will ease their tensions “as soon as possible” because it wants to retain simultaneously good relations with both nations, he said. “Armenia is interested in that, and we will do everything we can in that direction,” added Nalbandian.

The two ministers said they also spoke at length about international efforts to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which are spearheaded by the French, Russian and U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Lavrov reaffirmed Russian support support a Karabakh settlement, saying that it holds the key to peace and stability in the entire South Caucasus. “The parties have agreed on a number of very important points that are contained in the document which the co-chairs -- Russia, the United States and France -- submitted to the OSCE [in November 2007,]” he said. “There also remain unsolved issues, but there are a number of variants that allow us to solve those unsolved issues. I hope that the planned further contacts within the framework of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement will help us move forward.”

The mediators hope that Sarkisian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev will meet again and finalize the framework peace deal before the end of this year. Such a meeting would most probably take place after Azerbaijan’s October 15 presidential election, which the incumbent Aliev is widely expected to win.

Source: http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...B205A98204.ASP

Russian MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko Interview with RIA Novosti Concerning Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov's Working Visit to Armenia

Question: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov will pay a working visit to Armenia on October 3 at the invitation of Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. What is the agenda of the upcoming talks?

Answer: This is not the first meeting of our minister with his Armenian counterpart. Edward Nalbandian, appointed to the post of Minister by a decree of the President of Armenia this past April, has already visited Moscow twice this year. At the upcoming Russian-Armenian talks a substantive, forward-looking exchange of views will take place on topical issues related to the deepening of mutually advantageous allied partnership and on key international and regional problems.

Question: How is cooperation evolving between Russia and Armenia at different levels? In particular, how do you assess the dynamics of bilateral political dialogue?

Answer: The highly dynamic evolution of relations between Moscow and Yerevan in recent years stems largely from the sides maintaining a regular, content-saturated political dialogue, at the highest level in particular. This creates a favorable atmosphere for the expansion and improvement of Russian-Armenian cooperation in different fields. The ministers will touch upon certain topical issues in Russian-Armenian relations. Over the recent period, economic problems have moved to the fore in cooperation between Moscow and Yerevan. Russia confidently leads among the major foreign economic partners of Armenia. Primary attention is being paid to interaction in the fuel and energy sector.

Question: What themes will be touched on during the talks between the Russian and Armenian ministers of foreign affairs?

Answer: Closer cooperation towards security and stability in Transcaucasia will figure high on the talks' agenda. The ministers will discuss conditions in the region after the recent irresponsible and adventurous actions of the current Georgian regime that led to the dramatic events at the southern borders of Russia. Our assessments of the situation, resulting from Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia and from the decisions taken by Russia to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, will be conveyed to Edward Nalbandian. We look forward to the continuation of our joint close work within the CIS and CSTO (considering that Armenia currently chairs the Organization) as well as in other prestigious international organizations, including the UN, Council of Europe and OSCE.

Question: Will Nagorno Karabakh settlement issues be discussed?

Answer: Yes, of course. This complicated problem remains urgent. Russia intends to continue assisting the parties in conflict to find a mutually acceptable solution. Supporting in this context the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia reaffirms the invariability of its principled stand on Nagorno Karabakh settlement. We presume that the chief responsibility for the final choice of a settlement formula lies with the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis themselves. Russia would be ready to back up the solution option which will suit the parties in conflict, and in the event of a compromise agreement being reached – will act as the guarantor of the settlement.

Sergey Lavrov's upcoming visit must contribute significantly to an effective pursuit of the Russian and Armenian leaderships' course toward the all-out development and consolidation of bilateral relations, including their foreign policy component.

Source: http://www.isria.info/RESTRICTED/D/2...ber2008_14.htm

RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS IN ARMENIA OVER $1.3BLN

Russian investments in Armenia have exceeded $1.3bln, RF Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters following his meeting with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandyan. "We are satisfied over the real progress in most of the issues. Over the past months, we have recorded an increase of around 20% in the bilateral trade turnover. Russian investments in Armenia have exceeded $1.3bln. It is a considerable sum, and the investments must of course be effective in the interests of our economies and peoples," Lavrov said. According to him, at the meeting in Yerevan, the sides held a detailed discussion of bilateral relations and cooperation in dealing with regional and international problems. "We held frank and businesslike discussions, which is expected of strategic partners. We are satisfied over the fact that the agreements reached by the presidents, including the ones reached during their repeated meetings, are being implemented," Lavrov said. He pointed out a high level of Armenian-Russian cultural ties. "This is a traditional field of cooperation, which is aimed at maintaining and development of contacts between our peoples," Lavrov said. He also pointed out a higher level of political coordination within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). "Armenia plays a special role in this process, especially as a country chairing the CSTO now. I think that all the plans, including the ones of cooperation between the foreign offices will be realized in future as well," Lavrov said.

Source: http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg246184.html

Armenian, Russian Defense Ministers discuss bilateral military cooperation

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan of Armenia and Anatoly Serdyukov of Russia met Saturday to discuss bilateral military cooperation, the RF Defense Minister's spokesman, col. Alexei Kuznetsov said. "Today, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is on a working visit Armenia, met his Armenian counterpart to discuss issues referring to bilateral military cooperation," he said, Russian media reports.

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=27263