The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Haykakan]

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

I don't see why NATO should care about Armenia let alone stop Turckey from invading. Russia is Armenias only hope not because of similar religion or something like that but because Russia wants a wedge-Armenia between Turckey and Azerbedjan, Having Armenia there is in Russias interest. The only other country that sees Armenia in a similar strategic light is Iran because they also dont want panturckism. NATO is a western force dominated by the USA_ZIONISTS who would love to see panturckism, they see Armenia as a opstical. i wish we didn't have to rely on anybody for our security but the facts are plain and simple and they dictate that Armenia sticks to Russias side no matter what or else it will not exist. Where was NATO when Tuirckey invaded Cyprus, killed 20,000 kurds and invaded Iraq to kill more kurds.

[hipeter924]

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

Europe is America and Israel leaning but still neutral. The EU would never put its neck out for Turkey. But as for Armenia it would never fight Turkey if it invaded. Nato is not as strong as it once was...the latest thing in Georgia showed this...the EU wants to play a balancing act between Washington and Moscow, it will find someday though it will have to choose a side or be totally independent. Nato was at odds with Greece because democracy had been overthrown there...Cyprus democracy was replaced with dictatorship so Turkey invaded. Also add to your tally the Syrians.

[Haykakan]

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

Yesterday i went to a commemoration event in Detroit area because i heard a representative from Armenias foreighn affairs department was going to give a speech after the religious service honoring the martyrs. The service itself was extralong and pretty bad. One guy was yelling a poam on the mic and made everyone lose their hearing then a younger man representing one of the churches here gave a horribly offencive speech in which he stated that the genocide happened because the armenians were not faithfull enoughf. Armenia has more churches then Detroit has liquer stores, i really wanted to go xxxxxslap that idiot but my wife restraigned me. The comemoration continued outside where a matagh was blessed and we sang some patiotic songs which was the best part of the whole thing. After the event was over we went to the adjacent hall where there was some more prayers.. and music and finely the international and security affairs consultant, his name is Armen Kharazian, went up to speak. He gave a uninspiring speech about his past visit here and how the USA-Armenia relations are so important and successfull thanks to the americanarmenian communities. To my surprise there was no question/answer session and the whole thing came to a end with another playing of the jutak and unmemorable closing remarks. I was there to ask questions and was pretty frustrated so i went up to Armen and i asked him his thoughts about Armenias participation in the NATO exercises in Georgia to which Russia had expressed its discontent. He started to answer but people around him were dragging him here and there for photo ops so i waited patiently and to his credit the man did come back to me to discuss the issue. I expressed my consern regarding angering Russia and asked him if the recent warmer relations between Baku and Moscow were behind the Armenian participation in the NATO exercises. He responded by stating that Armenias goal is to be friendly with all it's neighbors which includes Georgia and that Armenia was trying to be friendly with both Russia and the west. He said Russian /Azeri relations were not behind this decision. I pressed him further by mentioning that the west has a tradition of hanging their lessser friends/allies out to dry (many examples to choose from here) and i questioned the wisdome of risking good relations with Russia for friendlier ties with countries who have a spotty record in helping their allies and would hardly choose Armenia over turckey or azeris, his responce was that Armenia is trying to have good relations with all sides and is working on its own independent foreighn policy which does not always mirror Russias policy. He continued by saying that Russia is our ally but that it is not our only friend and that it needs to undestand that Armenia has its own interests and will make its own decisions inline with its interests. I thanked him for his answers and got his card and he thanked me for my interest in the matter. I am proud that Armenia has grown it's own set of balls but i am worried about them being cut off. Being Russias footstool has guerenteed Armenias existence but at the price of basicly putting its interests in the hands of its moody ally. To grow, Armenia does need its own independent stratagy but it will come at a cost and what that cost is i think we will soon see. This is a interesting but dangerous time in our nations history, but then again when has that not been the case?

[Federate]

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


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Armenia is no longer considered Russian fore post in Caucasus
29.04.2009 15:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In 2008 Russia no longer considered Armenia as its fore post in Caucasus, Moscow State Institute of International Relations representative, Great Game periodical Chief Editor Ivan Safranchuk told a news conference in Yerevan.

According to Russian expert, Moscow will not participate in a deal on NKR conflict settlement. Safranchuk noted that Russia is carefully following NKR conflict settlement process and will put its best efforts to prevent any other country’s intervention in NKR conflict settlement, which is an issue to be solved solely by Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Russia has a positive attitude towards Armenia’s complementary policy. It’s clear that mutual obligations between Armenia and Russia became less in number, and reconfiguration of balance has been observed lately, ” Safranchuk stressed.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=31106

[zeytuntsi]

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

you seem to show a disposition for prioritizing "the people" of a nation when you analyze its health. There are users that post here who don't prioritize them as above the geopolitical interests, or rather, necessities of a nation. If you fail to appreciate their orientation and the significance of geopolitics in the world altogether, obviously you will find much of this thread to be propaganda and jibberish...but I encourage you to also understand the ultimate military goals of this nation, the resources it is trying to keep its hands on (rather than to lose them to America, or even China should it not be able to continue effective partnership committees and alliances with it).

Both military readiness and social/economical stability are essential in geopolitics because social/economical instability is the internal enemy. Today's Russia is adequately equipped to deal with external military threats, but is much less adequately equipped to deal with a social and economical crisis. So, from a risk management point of view, the people should be priority in today's circumstances.

[hipeter924]

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

----------------------------------
Armenia is no longer considered Russian fore post in Caucasus
29.04.2009 15:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In 2008 Russia no longer considered Armenia as its fore post in Caucasus, Moscow State Institute of International Relations representative, Great Game periodical Chief Editor Ivan Safranchuk told a news conference in Yerevan.

According to Russian expert, Moscow will not participate in a deal on NKR conflict settlement. Safranchuk noted that Russia is carefully following NKR conflict settlement process and will put its best efforts to prevent any other country’s intervention in NKR conflict settlement, which is an issue to be solved solely by Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Russia has a positive attitude towards Armenia’s complementary policy. It’s clear that mutual obligations between Armenia and Russia became less in number, and reconfiguration of balance has been observed lately, ” Safranchuk stressed.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=31106

Its a political game. Russia wants Armenia to give Russia greater control of its affairs...this is the punishment. I hate politics.

[Federate]

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

A very wise decision which I was not expecting.
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Armenia Backs Out Of NATO Drills In Georgia

05.05.2009
Emil Danielyan

Armenia cancelled on Tuesday its participation in NATO-led military exercises in neighboring Georgia that have been strongly condemned by Russia, its closest ally.
The Armenian Defense Ministry gave no clear reasons for what appears to be a last-minute decision. A one-sentence statement issued by it cited only unspecified “current circumstances.” The ministry spokesman refused to give further details.

Armenia was among more than a dozen NATO member states and partners that are due to launch the exercises at a Georgian army base east of Tbilisi on Wednesday. Around 1,000 soldiers from these countries will practice "crisis response" through June 1.

Russia has reacted angrily to the planned war games, accusing NATO of raising tensions in the region less than nine months after its war with Georgia. It reportedly deployed troops at the border with Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia at the weekend.

The Russian reaction led Kazakhstan, Moldova and Serbia to back out of the exercises late last month. Yerevan, which maintains closer military ties with Moscow, was still expected to send a small number of troops to the drills until the Defense Ministry statement.

President Serzh Sarkisian reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening Armenia’s ties with NATO during talks with the alliance’s visiting deputy secretary-general, Claudio Bisogniero, on April 28. He described those ties as one of the elements of his country’s national security doctrine.

Armenia hosted similar NATO-led exercises, boycotted by Russia, last fall. The announcement of its decision not to take part in the Georgia drills followed a further upsurge in Russia-NATO tensions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was reported on Tuesday to have dropped plans to attend a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council this month in protest at NATO's expulsion of Russian diplomats over a spy scandal.

It was not immediately clear if the Armenian pullout had anything to do with a mutiny at another Georgian military base which the authorities in Tbilisi claimed to have peacefully put down on Wednesday. The standoff at the Mukhrovani base just outside
Tbilisi reportedly lasted several hours and ended after the intervention of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Georgian officials accused Russia of organizing the rebellion to disrupt the NATO exercises. Moscow dismissed the accusation as "insane."

http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/1622143.html

[Pazooki]

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

A very wise decision which I was not expecting.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Armenia Backs Out Of NATO Drills In Georgia

05.05.2009
Emil Danielyan

Armenia cancelled on Tuesday its participation in NATO-led military exercises in neighboring Georgia that have been strongly condemned by Russia, its closest ally.
The Armenian Defense Ministry gave no clear reasons for what appears to be a last-minute decision. A one-sentence statement issued by it cited only unspecified “current circumstances.” The ministry spokesman refused to give further details.

Armenia was among more than a dozen NATO member states and partners that are due to launch the exercises at a Georgian army base east of Tbilisi on Wednesday. Around 1,000 soldiers from these countries will practice "crisis response" through June 1.

Russia has reacted angrily to the planned war games, accusing NATO of raising tensions in the region less than nine months after its war with Georgia. It reportedly deployed troops at the border with Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia at the weekend.

The Russian reaction led Kazakhstan, Moldova and Serbia to back out of the exercises late last month. Yerevan, which maintains closer military ties with Moscow, was still expected to send a small number of troops to the drills until the Defense Ministry statement.

President Serzh Sarkisian reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening Armenia’s ties with NATO during talks with the alliance’s visiting deputy secretary-general, Claudio Bisogniero, on April 28. He described those ties as one of the elements of his country’s national security doctrine.

Armenia hosted similar NATO-led exercises, boycotted by Russia, last fall. The announcement of its decision not to take part in the Georgia drills followed a further upsurge in Russia-NATO tensions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was reported on Tuesday to have dropped plans to attend a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council this month in protest at NATO's expulsion of Russian diplomats over a spy scandal.

It was not immediately clear if the Armenian pullout had anything to do with a mutiny at another Georgian military base which the authorities in Tbilisi claimed to have peacefully put down on Wednesday. The standoff at the Mukhrovani base just outside
Tbilisi reportedly lasted several hours and ended after the intervention of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Georgian officials accused Russia of organizing the rebellion to disrupt the NATO exercises. Moscow dismissed the accusation as "insane."

http://www.armenialiberty.org/conten...e/1622143.html

Abres! NATO'y thera anidzem

[Federate]

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

More on the NATO exercise and another given reason for Armenia's withdrawal.
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Armenia officially pulls out of NATO-led drills in Georgia



YEREVAN, May 5 (RIA Novosti) - Armenia will not take part in upcoming NATO-led military exercises in Georgia, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The Defense Ministry of the Republic of Armenia announces that due to the current situation, Armenian troops will not take part in NATO's Cooperative Longbow /Cooperative Lancer 2009 in Georgia," the ministry said in a statement.

The Armenian Aravot newspaper earlier said the decision was made after a meeting last Wednesday in Brussels between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at which the NATO chief supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Relations have been tense for more than two decades between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population. The region declared its independence in a 1991 after a referendum boycotted by local Azerbaijanis. The ensuing conflict claimed some 35,000 lives before a ceasefire was signed in 1994. The area technically remains part of Azerbaijan, but has its own de facto government.

The Cooperative Longbow/Cooperative Lancer 2009 command-and-staff exercise, which Moscow has criticized as unhelpful in the wake of last summer's armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, is scheduled for May 6-June 1.

According to NATO, the drills are aimed at improving interoperability between NATO and partner countries, within the framework of Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative programs, and will not involve any light or heavy weaponry.

Over 1,300 troops from 19 NATO member or ally states were originally scheduled to participate, but Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova and Serbia have already withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan confirmed on May 1 its participation in the NATO-led exercises, and stressed the country's commitment to relations with NATO and its active participation in the Individual Partnership Action Plan.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20090505/121452409.html

[Haykakan]

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

Somethin tells me Putin made a late phone call to Serjik.