The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Haykakan]

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

Simply amazing: A Russian story...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvHX0...layer_embedded

Dude that was some cool art there i loved it.

[Federate]

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

Russian MPs Slam Yerevan For Honoring Georgia’s Saakashvili


Two senior members of the Russian parliament strongly criticized Armenia on Friday for bestowing its highest state award for foreign dignitaries upon Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Saakashvili received the Medal of Honor from President Serzh Sarkisian at the start of his two-day official visit to Yerevan on Wednesday. Sarkisian’s office cited his contribution to “strengthening the centuries-old Georgian-Armenian friendship.”

The move did not go down well with Armenian nationalist activists who accuse the Saakashvili government of deliberately neglecting the socioeconomic woes of Georgia’s Javakheti region and violating the rights of its predominantly Armenian population. Several dozen of them tried to stage a protest on Thursday outside a Yerevan hotel where the Georgian leader stayed during the trip.

Police used to force to disperse the protesters, many of them young activists of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) that stands for granting Javakheti the status of an autonomous region. “Giving Saakashvili the Medal of Honor was incomprehensible,” said Giro Manoyan, a senior member of Dashnaktsutyun.

Some Russian politicians seem to have been even more irked by Yerevan’s warm reception of a man vilified by Moscow for his staunchly pro-Western foreign policy. Valeri Bogomolov, a member of the State Duma committee on foreign relations affiliated with the ruling United Russia Party, called it a “very controversial event.”

“Every country is free to award anything to anything,” the Regnum news agency quoted Bogomolov as saying. “However, it is important to understand that you can’t spit into a water well from which you will need to drink on more than occasion.”

“The demonstrative granting of a high Armenian state award to the Georgian president was an untactful and unfriendly step towards Russia,” agreed Viktor Ilyukhin, another senior Duma member representing the opposition Communist Party.

Both lawmakers were confident, however, that Sarkisian’s gesture will not inflict serous damage on close relations between Armenia and Russia. “Russia is a great country which thinks that it should prove its so-called tolerance everywhere and understands the sometimes inexplicable actions of our partners,” said Bogomolov.

Speaking at Yerevan State University on Thursday, Saakashvili slammed Russian policy on both Georgia and Armenia. He claimed in particular that Moscow showed an utter disregard of “the interests of the Armenian side” during its August 2008 war with Georgia.

http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/1763691.html

[hipeter924]

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

Seems like a good tactical move to me, after all its Armenia's only trade link to the west.

[UrMistake]

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

Seems like a good tactical move to me, after all its Armenia's only trade link to the west.

The thing is that even i don't like it we must be friends with Georgia,giving awards in times of such no that is not good move,cause the same leader is the man against armenian in eny aspect in georgia.

If armenia had to answer at those politicans then we would demant stop selling guns to states that declare war as solution of eny problems.
They give jobs to big turkish companes to constuct buildings in russian bringing turkish workers wile the could do the same thing with other nation that are much more friendly and not just cheap.

[KanadaHye]

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

Gazprom in Azerbaijan gas deal

Russian gas giant Gazprom has signed a deal to import natural gas from Azerbaijan and then pipe it to Europe.

Gazprom will import 500 million cubic metres of Azeri gas from 2010, and it expects import levels to rise.

The move is being seen by observers as an attempt by Moscow to extend its grip on potential European energy supplies.

Europe gets about 20% of its gas from Russia via pipelines in the Ukraine - though last winter rows between Kiev and Moscow saw supplies being cut.

Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said that his firm had also been promised priority in buying gas from the second phase of the Shakh Deniz Caspian Sea field.

This is seen as a potential key source of gas for the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline, which circumvents Russia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8124809.stm

[meline]

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

So instead of selling it directly to Europe they will transfer it to Russia which will resell it to the EU at higher prices of course. Market monopoly. Of course they cannot sell it directly due to lack of infrastructure. Up a xxxx creek without a paddle. For the azeris I mean.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Obama pledges to consider Russia's missile defense concerns

NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Tuesday to consider Russia's concerns on missile defense and to respect Moscow's interests in the post-Soviet space, a senior Russian government official said.

"Obama said Russia's concerns would be given more consideration when discussing [missile defense plans]," said Yury Ushakov, a deputy chief of staff at the Russian government.

Obama has shown less interest than President George Bush in opening a missile interceptor base in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic, which Moscow fiercely opposes as a security threat.

According to Ushakov, Obama and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discussed the former Soviet republics, including Georgia and Ukraine.

"President Obama pledged to consider the regional significance of these countries for us," Ushakov said.

On Ukraine, Putin told Obama about Russia's policy towards and its opinion of the developments in the neighboring country, which are important to Moscow, and also gave Russia's view on the August 2008 military conflict with Georgia over South Ossetia, Ushakov reported.

Citing Putin, Ushakov said the major problem had been that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had misinterpreted U.S. support for his plans.

During talks with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Obama urged Russia to respect Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"I reiterated my firm belief that Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. If even as we work through our disagreements on Georgia's course, we do agree that no one has interest in renewed military conflict," Obama said at a joint news conference with Medvedev after their talks.

Speaking about Russia-U.S. cooperation on North Korea, Obama described it as very productive, Ushakov said.

According to the Russian government official, Obama also praised Russia's role in solving Iran's nuclear problem and said that "the United States was interested in Russia remaining in the same boat as the Americans and more close cooperation."

source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20090707/155458273.html

[KarotheGreat]

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

Russia's Lavrov says U.S. missile shield plans counterproductive

MOSCOW, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow hopes that Washington will realize the 'counter productivity' of its plan to deploy elements of U.S. missile shield in central Europe, the Russian foreign minister said on Tuesday.

"I hope that the revision [of the missile shield plans] in Washington... will result in an understanding that unilateral steps in this sphere are counterproductive," Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Vesti channel.

U.S. President Barack Obama, currently in Moscow on a three-day visit, has shown less interest than President George Bush in opening a missile interceptor base in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic, which Moscow has fiercely opposed as a security threat.

Obama has not yet announced a final decision on whether to move ahead with the missile shield. The Bush administration said the missile defense shield elements were to counter possible strikes from "rogue" states, and not aimed against Russia.

"They [the U.S.] want to analyze this project, and they intend to complete their review in a two- or three-month period, as President Obama promised President Medvedev," Lavrov said.

Medvedev said on Monday after talks with the U.S. leader that the Obama administration, unlike its predecessor, had taken a pause and was examining the situation to formulate a final position on the missile defense plans.

Lavrov also said that talks on a new treaty to replace the START 1 deal due to expire in December would be completed by the end of the year.

"There are reasons to believe that we will complete the work by December," Lavrov said.

He added that Russia would want any new START treaty to stipulate large cuts in strategic delivery systems.

"We are for the maximum possible limits on delivery systems," he said.

The Russian and U.S. presidents signed a preliminary agreement on Monday to cut their countries' nuclear arsenals to 1,500-1,675 operational warheads and their strategic delivery systems to between 500-1,100 units.

source:http://en.rian.ru/world/20090707/155462457.html

[KarotheGreat]

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

Let's look at the BS coming out of Obama's mouth

Obama says U.S. missile shield set to counter Iran, not Russia

MOSCOW, July 5 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview with a prominent Russian newspaper that the planned deployment of a U.S. missile shield in Europe was intended to counter Iran, not Russia.

In an interview with Novaya Gazeta to be published on Monday, Obama said that the United States was seeking to create a missile shield in Europe to protect the U.S. and Europe from Iranian ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.

Obama is arriving in Moscow on Monday on a two-day official visit for top-level talks with the Russian leadership to focus on nuclear arms reduction, U.S. missile shield plans in Europe and other key international and bilateral issues.

Obama told the paper that the United States was not creating and would not create a system of defense against a possible attack from Russia, adding that such a rationale was an inheritance of the cold war period.

Washington has agreed plans with Warsaw and Prague to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic by 2013. The United States says the defenses are needed to deter possible strikes from "rogue states" such as Iran.

Russia has consistently opposed the missile shield as a threat to its national security and the balance of power in Europe.

Obama earlier indicated he could put on hold his predecessor George Bush's plans concerning the third site for Washington's global missile defense system, which he said needed more analysis.

source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20090705/155435541.html

[KarotheGreat]

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

Things are getting hot in North-Caucasus again

Six injured in bomb attack in Chechen capital

GROZNY, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Six people including two police officers were injured on Tuesday when an explosive device went off in a public garden in Chechnya's capital, Grozny, a law enforcement official said.

One of the officers is in a serious condition following the blast, which went off in a trash can. An investigation is underway.

Chechnya, which witnessed almost a decade of two separatist wars, has enjoyed relative stability under President Ramzan Kadyrov, but the North Caucasus region has seen a rise in violence in recent months.

source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090707/155458237.html