The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armenian]

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

A New Prime Minister, and More Intrigue, Arise in Russia


(Viktor A. Zubkov in the State Duma)

MOSCOW, Sept. 14 — Russia’s Parliament confirmed Viktor A. Zubkov as prime minister on Friday, cementing the instant rise to Kremlin stature of a quiet confidant of President Vladimir V. Putin even as Mr. Putin added fresh uncertainty to the question of who might succeed him. Speaking at an annual meeting of visiting Russia experts, Mr. Putin said there were now at least five viable presidential candidates for the election next spring. Three are known: Mr. Zubkov and the two first deputy prime ministers — Sergei B. Ivanov and Dmitri A. Medvedev. Mr. Putin declined to share the other two names. “Currently a minimum of five people can be named who stand a real chance of running for president and getting elected,” Mr. Putin said.

He added, “There is a real choice.”

The surprise ascension of Mr. Zubkov, who previously led a small federal agency that investigates financial crimes, had raised questions about the field. Mr. Putin’s hint of two more candidates appeared to confuse the succession question further, leaving Kremlin watchers speculating anew about his plans. The group of Russia experts Mr. Putin addressed, known as the Valdai Discussion Group, gathered this year at a presidential compound on a bluff overlooking the Black Sea. Mr. Putin’s remarks, and the immediate reaction in the Russian news media to the idea of five serious contenders for the presidency, underscored both his supremacy in domestic Russian affairs and the nature of the competition in Russian elections.

While any qualified candidate may seek public support to run for office, political analysts and the Kremlin’s spokesmen alike have said that any vote next year will almost certainly depend on an electorate of one: Mr. Putin. One senior Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with diplomatic protocol, said Mr. Putin’s assertion that there are five solid presidential candidate was perhaps best viewed as misleading. “This is designed to make it look like there will be an election,” the diplomat said. “But in the end he is going to pick.”

In a sign that there could be further shake-ups, Mr. Putin also expressed dissatisfaction with the government that had been led until now by Prime Minister Mikhail Y. Fradkov. He said that members of the government had not been working as diligently as he expected, and that some of the ministers had begun to plan their lives after Mr. Putin’s expected departure next year. But he added that Mr. Fradkov made his own decision to resign Wednesday.

“I did not push the prime minister to do this,” Mr. Putin said. “The prime minister clearly saw the mood of his collective and came to me with the proposal. I had the same sense.”

As Mr. Putin addressed the meeting, Mr. Zubkov began work in the government, official Russian news agencies reported. At least a modest shake-up of ministers was expected. Mr. Zubkov, who will now manage the government in the months leading to the parliamentary elections in December, is a former collective farm manager who has been a confidant of Mr. Putin’s since at least the early 1990s when he served as Mr. Putin’s deputy in a mayoral department in St. Petersburg. In recent years he has led a federal agency that investigates money laundering and other crimes. Mr. Putin praised him, calling him “highly professional, decent, balanced and wise.”

“There is no corruption around him,” Mr. Putin said.

The Western diplomat said Mr. Zubkov had a good reputation for fighting international money laundering and for cooperating with investigators in the West in campaigns to undermine terrorist financing. Several analysts have suggested that Mr. Zubkov could become president and remain loyal to Mr. Putin, allowing Mr. Putin to return to office. Mr. Putin is barred by the Constitution from serving a third consecutive term, but would be eligible to run again in 2012, or sooner, if the next president serves an abbreviated term. He offered no clear insight to his intentions on Friday.

“I have not decided concretely what I will do,” he said, “but I will have an influence on events.”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/wo...tml?ref=europe

[Armenian]

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

Russians Buy Another Major Armenian Firm



Armenia’s largest mobile phone operator, K-Telecom, announced on Friday its widely anticipated takeover by a Russian telecommunication giant, which will give a further boost to Russia’s already strong economic presence in the South Caucasus state. Top executives of the two companies said Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Russia’s number one wireless operator, will pay over $430 million for a commanding 80 percent stake in K-Telecom and have the option of buying the remaining 20 percent of its stock in the next five years. The deal came after weeks of negotiations reportedly involving the governments of the two countries. According to reports in the Armenian press, the authorities in Yerevan have played a large role in convincing K-Telecom’s official owner, Lebanese tycoon Pierre Fattouch, to sell his rapidly expanding VivaCell network to MTS.

The Armenian government was similarly said to have been a driving force behind last year’s sale of the ArmenTel national telecom company, which operates the country’s second cellular network, to another Russian wireless firm, Vimpelcom. The $500 million acquisition came shortly after President Robert Kocharian’s visit to Moscow. Fattouch denied any political motives behind the latest deal, again comparing his Armenian subsidiary to a young woman courted by suitors. “The bride has come of age,” he said. “It was natural for her to want to marry.” “There were many suitors, but this girl fell in love with this one,” said Ralph Yirikian, the VivaCell chief executive. “This deal has no political motives,” he added.

Speaking at a joint news conference, the MTS chairman, Leonid Melamed, likewise insisted that political factors were not at play, but chose to thank the Armenian government. Asked for the reason for the gratitude, he said, “We had the honor of being received by the country’s minister of communications and plan to maintain our contacts with the government.” The government picked K-Telecom as Armenia’s second mobile operator without a tender in late 2004 after forcing the then Greek-owned ArmenTel to abandon its legal monopoly on mobile telephony. The launch of K-Telecom’s network in July 2005 led to an explosion in mobile phone use in the country as fierce competition between ArmenTel and VivaCell dramatically reduced the hitherto high cost of the service. VivaCell currently boasts nearly one million subscribers, compared to ArmenTel’s 500,000.

As recently as in July, Fattouch declared that he has invested about $340 million in VivaCell, intends to expand it and has no plans to leave Armenia. He said on Friday that he will invest proceeds from the network’s sale in the Armenian mining sector. He gave no details. With a market capitalization of $25 billion, MTS is one of the world’s biggest mobile phone companies and has subsidiaries in other former Soviet republics like Ukraine, Belarus and Uzbekistan. Its purchase of VivaCell coincided with a meeting in Yerevan of the Russian-Armenian inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation.

The commission co-chairs, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin welcomed the deal, saying that it will further boost Russian-Armenian commercial ties. Levitin said Russian investments in the Armenian economy will total a record-high level of $500 million this year. The figure will likely grow next year because of “a number of other very interesting and big investment projects,” he added without elaborating. “It is very important that business believes in the governments of Russia and Armenia and that investments in our countries are protected,” the Russian minister told reporters. Sarkisian also welcomed “huge progress” in Russian-Armenian ties and described as “extremely important” his upcoming visit to Moscow. “There are problems that must be solved with the governments’ intervention,” he said.

In Levitin’s words, the most serious of those problems is a lack of stable and reliable transport communication between the two countries. The sale of VivaCell is certain to prompt serious concern from opponents of the Armenian government who believe that Russia’s rising economic presence is putting their country’s security and independence at risk. They strongly condemned a series of Russian-Armenian agreements that left Armenia’s energy sector under near total Russian control. Opposition leaders and commentators have alleged that Sarkisian and Kocharian have facilitated the Russian economic expansion into Armenia with the aim of ensuring Moscow’s continued support for their joint rule. The two leaders and their political allies have always dismissed such claims. Still, some of them admitted on Friday that they are worried that Armenia is becoming too dependent on its former Soviet master.

“We must make calculations. If [Russian-Armenian deals] affect our independence, we must be careful on such issues,” Karen Karapetian, the parliamentary leader of Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK), told reporters. Asked whether Yerevan has been careful enough, he said: “Not quite.” “We must think about attracting not only Russian but American, European and Asian capital into our economy,” said Artsvi Minasian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the HHK’s junior coalition partner.

Source: http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...EB0AC00770.ASP

RUSSIAN INVESTMENT TO REACH 190 MILLION IN GAS AND ENERGY

Russia will invest about $190 million in gas and energy project of Armenia this year. Last year the same figure totaled $111.8 million, government information and public relations department informs. Just to mention, these investments were made by the government of Armenia and “Gasprom” in accordance with an agreement signed on March 31, 2006. The agreement transferred all shares of “Hrazdan” thermo electric power station (JEK) to “Gasprom” in order to build a common production complex of “Hrazdan” JEK and “Hrazdan 5.” According to the same source, a contract was signed with “Armavia” Air Company on supply of 100 regional airplanes of SUKHOI and SUPERJET type. The airplanes will be delivered to the air company already late 2008. Armenia is the first among NIS states where these Russian modern high quality and comfortable airplanes will be operated.

Source: http://www.panorama.am/en/economy/2007/09/14/armavia/

Levitin: Russian investments in RA to total $0,5 billion this year

This year Russian investments in Armenia will amount to $0,5 billion, Co-chair of the Russian-Armenian intergovernmental committee on economic cooperation Igor Levitin said. “Armenia and Russia enjoy partner relations. We can partly ascribe the effect to the friendly relations between the leadership of our states. Businessmen believed the authorities and the amount of investments mentioned above is not the limit. With implementation of several major projects, the figure will increase,” Mr Levitin said. For his part, Armenian Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan said the recent boost in economic cooperation is also explained by regular dialogue between the Presidents. “Russian investments will increase. Today we will sign an agreement on introducing a Russian company into the Armenian market,” he said, IA Regnum reports. Upon completion of the sitting Serge Sargsyan and Igor Levitin ratified the plans for long-term measures for strengthening the Armenian-Russian cooperation and signed the protocol of the 9th sitting of the committee. The 10th sitting is scheduled for September 2008 in Russia

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23355

Russia to boost investment in Armenia

Russian investment in Armenia's economy is expected to reach $500m by the end of 2007, Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin, who is also the co-chairman of the Russian-Armenian intergovernmental economic cooperation commission, told a press conference in Yerevan today. Levitin noted that Russia and Armenia had established a good partnership and friendly relations, but there was still room to increase investment. He also noted that transportation problems still hampered developing economic ties between the two countries. In turn, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian added that this year had seen improvement in the economic relations between the two countries thanks to governmental efforts and expressed hope for even greater success for years to come. According to Armenia's National Statistics Service, Russia's total investment in the country stood at $74m in H1 2007, $38m of which were direct investment.

Source: http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20070914175204.shtml

[Lernakan]

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

CHRISTIAN CEMETERY DESTRUCTION CAN SPOIL MOSCOW-BAKU RELATIONS

KarabakhOpen
14-09-2007 19:30:42

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The situation with the Nariman cemetery can have
a negative influence on relations between our states," said Vasily
Istratov, the Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan.

He said the Embassy received plenty of complaints about the issue.

"We sent an Embassy employee to the site when the process began. We
think that the process of reinterment should be held in accord with
the adopted rules," he said, Day.az reports.

As reported earlier, under the pretext of building a highway Baku
demolishes a Christian cemetery (the Nariman cemetery), where
Armenians, xxxs and Russians were buried.

Although local authorities assure of reinterment, photos in Internet
show a complete dump. The photographers say the bulldozers just raze
the graves to the ground depriving the relatives to rebury the remains.

The city administration says exhumation and reinterment is performed
in accord with ethnic and religious traditions in the presence of
relatives of the deceased. Meanwhile, the xxxish News Agency reports
that "observance of xxxish traditions is restricted to the fact that
grave-diggers throw the ashes into sacks and then give them to the
relatives."

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg202479.html

[Armenian]

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

CHRISTIAN CEMETERY DESTRUCTION CAN SPOIL MOSCOW-BAKU RELATIONS

After getting some personal work done, I decided to spend some time at the outdoor bazar "Vernisaj" just to observe the crowd that was coming in and out of the area. Although most visitors here tend to be Amerikahais and Parskahais, to my surprise today I noticed quite a few Russian Slavs. They all seemed well dressed and well behaved, I'm assuming they were officials working within various Russian owned firms in Yerevan. I noticed one particular Russian couple going from stand to stand looking for large silver Orthodox crosses. The silversmiths that were present there were offering them other types of crosses but the couple insisted upon purchasing an Orthodox one.

And after reading the article posted above a thought came to my mind.

During Soviet times an ideology, a particular belief system, cemented sociopolitical ties between Armenians and various communist peoples. In post Soviet times this ideological connection was lost as various formerly communist peoples dicovered nationalism, religion and materialsim. And this came at a time when western ideoligical movements such as democracy and capitalism (represented by its military wing NATO and its financial wing the IMF/WTO) were gaining in power and popularity.

Although there are some military and economic alliances in existence today amongst some Eastern European nations, I think this is a good time to begin a new ideological/ethical/cultural movement that has its roots in Orthodox Christianity. This theorized ideology can potentially bring closer together various Orthodox nations such as Russia, Serbia, Greece, Armenia, and why not Georgia.

I think such a new movement would be essential in creating ties that can go way past the current geostrategic and economic ones that exists.

[crusader1492]

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

After getting some personal work done, I decided to spend some time at the outdoor bazar "Vernisaj" just to observe the crowd that was coming in and out of the area. Although most visitors here tend to be Amerikahais and Parskahais, to my surprise today I noticed quite a few Russian Slavs. They all seemed well dressed and well behaved, I'm assuming they were officials working within various Russian owned firms in Yerevan. I noticed one particular Russian couple going from stand to stand looking for large silver Orthodox crosses. The silversmiths that were present there were offering them other types of crosses but the couple insisted upon purchasing an Orthodox one.

And after reading the article posted above a thought came to my mind.

During Soviet times an ideology, a particular belief system, cemented sociopolitical ties between Armenians and various communist peoples. In post Soviet times this ideological connection was lost as various formerly communist peoples dicovered nationalism, religion and materialsim. And this came at a time when western ideoligical movements such as democracy and capitalism (represented by its military wing NATO and its financial wing the IMF/WTO) were gaining in power and popularity.

Although there are some military and economic alliances in existence today amongst some Eastern European nations, I think this is a good time to begin a new ideological/ethical/cultural movement that has its roots in Orthodox Christianity. This theorized ideology can potentially bring closer together various Orthodox nations such as Russia, Serbia, Greece, Armenia, and why not Georgia.

I think such a new movement would be essential in creating ties that can go way past the current geostrategic and economic ones that exists.

...I love it, "and why not Georgia".

[karoaper]

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

I honestly don't know where majority of Georgians stand in regards to their government's vile anti-Armenian policies. I would think the older generation must be overwhelmingly pro-Armenian. However, I don't trust the new generation of Georgians. Either way, most of the orthodox countries on that list are in a different camp from the one that Georgian is dying to get into.

[Armenian]

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

Indonesia – Russia opens the Pacific Front



As Sun Tsu said:

"Whoever occupies the battleground first and awaits the enemy will be at ease; whoever occupies the battleground afterward and must race to the conflict will be fatigued. Thus one who excels at warfare compels men and is not compelled by other men. Thus the highest realization of warfare is to attack the enemy's plans; next is to attack their alliances; next to attack their army; and the lowest is to attack their fortified cities."

Vladimir Putin has the goal of reestablishing Russia as a world power and returning the world to a multi-polar world. Russia's alliance with China and Iran with their global alliances through economic and military alliances presents the strategic basis for control and the elimination of the hegemony of the United States. The alliances span both the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam as exemplified by the relations with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Indonesia and Iran. While the politicians and the press are focused on war in Iraq, scant attention is being directed to the greater geopolitical events occurring worldwide. The battleground is already being occupied by the enemies of freedom and liberty. The Russian deal to supply weapons to Indonesia descended on the APEC summit table like a slammed fist. Russia along with their partners is utilizing alliances in the: political, transportation, military, technology, economic, natural resource and energy sectors to accomplish the goal.

Russia seeks access to the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific and the Caribbean. In the space of a few years Russia has managed to create a network of relations that, at a diplomatic level, have launched the Kremlin as an irreplaceable reference point for the central-Asiatic republics, for some middle-east countries, the Pacific Basin and the Caribbean. The network of alliances between Russia, Iran, China, India, Venezuela, Cuba and now Indonesia - motivated exclusively by convenience - have produced an acceleration of economic and financial integration projects. Past differences between Russia and the larger Asiatic nations seem now to be overcome due to the will to reach new common objectives. From this point of view, the intention of the Shanghai Pact's members of including Iran amongst the cooperation organizations, Russia and China's UNSC veto and opposition to imposing sanctions in order to discourage Teheran from pursuing the enrichment of uranium, and the profitable Russian-Iranian cooperation in economic and military fields represent the most significant examples of the sharing of political strategies that antagonize the West.

While the leaders who attended the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Sydney in September 2007 seemed to be united in their call for action on challenging issues such as global warming and economic development, in fact a cauldron of unpredictable discord was simmering just below the surface of smiles and handshakes. While Vladimir Putin arrived at the APEC meetings to open the Russian initiative in the Pacific with the signing of weapons and energy deals with Indonesia, the United States and Japan seemed intent on also creating a new military block in Asia. They have enlisted Australia, India and Singapore as their allies, and the five nations were concluding their first joint military exercises in the Bay of Bengal just as the APEC conference was winding down. In Sydney, the United States, Japan and Australia held separate security talks at which the main topic was how to engage with India. The leading members of this alliance have described their cooperation as focused on their "common interests," and have stressed that it is not aimed against China. Yet there is little evidence to prove this argument. No one knows what scenarios will arise in the future. Is the emerging Asian security paradigm a threat to China?

"The "Malabar CY 07-2" naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal held in the first week of September, 2007 undoubtedly represent a major shift in India's strategic security perceptions. Only the US and Indian navies had been participating in the 12 Malabar series of naval exercises held usually off the west coast of India so far. But Malabar CY 07-2 is different in two ways. First, the size of it; with the participation of nearly 30 warships and 200 aircraft from five nations- Australia, Japan, India, the U.S., and Singapore – makes it the largest ever naval exercise in this part of the world. Second, in a clear departure from the past, qualitatively the exercise is trying out entirely new set of war games in the Bay of Bengal off Andaman."

The Cold War should serve as a mirror in this present situation. The confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in the early years of the Cold War resembles in some respects the situation that is emerging today. The South China Sea was the scene of 13 resource-related military clashes in the 1990s, nine of which involved China.

Political Alliances

Russia – Indonesia

During a one-day visit to Indonesia on September 7, 2007 President Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of a $1 billion arms deal that many analysts see as part of a broader Russian effort to restore diplomatic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and make some money, as well. Indonesia, which until 2005 was under a U.S. arms embargo because of human rights abuses, will purchase Russian tanks, military helicopters and submarines. Last month, Russia said it would sell six fighter jets to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, as part of the deal.

"The deals signed in Indonesia are part of a Kremlin strategy to expand its influence in Asia and the Middle East," said Alexei Makarkin, an analyst at the Center for Political Technologies in Moscow. "Russia is trying to pursue a multipolar policy in the world and considers itself to be one of its poles." "We agreed to develop our cooperation in energy, mining, aviation and the telecommunications sector," said Putin, who stopped in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on his way to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Australia. "There's also a good perspective in defense and military."

For Indonesia, the country's defense minister said, the deal comes with none of the strings that encumber similar purchases from the United States and Western Europe. "Requirements for purchasing arms from Western countries are complicated, with preconditions attached, such as human rights, accountability, not to mention licensing," Juwono Sudarsono told reporters in Jakarta. "In our past experience with Britain, we were not allowed to use Scorpion tanks in Aceh, even though we were facing armed separatists."

Under Putin, Russia has become determined to project its military, diplomatic and energy power into the Pacific, an area it neglected after the fall of the Soviet Union. Besides the arms deal, Russian companies have signed billions of dollars worth of deals in the mining and energy sectors with Indonesian companies, Russian officials said. So it seems that the likes of Indonesia is certainly being subverted into the Moscow-Beijing Axis as the likes of Comrade Czar Vladimir Putin along with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are signing at least a one billion dollar arms deal. Indonesia is one country in the South Pacific that has one of the largest Muslim populations.

Many Indonesian Muslims are being subverted to be supporting radical "Islamist" leanings through such groups such as the "al-Qaedish" Jemaah Islamiah where it's derived from the "Islamist" Darul Islam (House of Islam), and entrenched itself in the Indonesian Muslim populations since the days of the Indonesian National Revolution, where members of the Soviet-backed Socialist Party of Indonesia attempted to create an "Indonesian Soviet Republic". While the openly "Islamist" movements such as Darul Islam wanted to establish an Islamic theocracy. Even members of the Indonesian Communist Party participated, now banned from Indonesia. But Indonesia in spite of the various governments trying to lean "pro-Western", Indonesia remains a target for recruitment for the Moscow-Beijing Axis. The arms purchase provides that very case.

The Russian – China Alliance

This is exemplified initially in what was known as the Beijing-Moscow Alliance. The first-ever joint Chinese-Russian military exercises took place in Mid-August 2005. The exercises were small in scale — but huge in implication. They indicated a further warming of the "strategic partnership" that Moscow and Beijing struck back in 1996. More importantly, they signal the first real post-Cold War steps, beyond inflammatory rhetoric, by Russia and China to balance — and, ultimately, diminish — U.S. power across Asia. If America doesn't take strategic steps to counter these efforts, it will lose influence to Russia and China in an increasingly important part of the world.

In Russia 2007 will be the Year of China. Beijing buys 90 per cent of its military hardware from Russia and insists on building an oil pipeline between the two countries. The two parties are working together to carve out their spheres of influence in Central Asia. China accounts for 40 per cent of Russia's total military sales. China's military needs Russian technology and the two neighbors have been quietly collaborating on ballistic missile research, nuclear technologies and space exploration. Russia and China are also seeking and obtaining western technology in a multitude of ways.

France and Germany, for example, seemed happy to allow Dubai's ruling family to buy its stake in EADS maker of Airbuses and Eurofighters. The fund will not be seeking board representation. Not that it would be able to get it. Appointing EADS directors is a privilege reserved for the members of the shareholder pact that controls 58 per cent of the shares. Rather, as with Dubai International Capital (DIC's) recent purchase of HSBC stock, the strategy is to take long-term stakes in the world's largest companies. The acquisition of shares of HSBC makes it "one of the leading shareholders" in HSBC, Europe's biggest bank. DIC is the private-equity arm of conglomerate Dubai Holding, founded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai.

Political considerations cannot be ruled out though. The 5 per cent stake in EADS held by Russian bank VTB looks to be aimed partly at winning sub-assembly work and hence technology transfer for Russia. There are signs that Qatar and China may also seek a closer relationship too. For Dubai, the inside track on EADS-owned Airbus wouldn't hurt. Airbus is the main supplier of aircraft to the Emirates airline and Dubai is hoping to expand its position as a major aircraft maintenance hub.

Similarly, in the last few months Russia and China have adopted similar positions on several issues in opposition to the United States, and their relationship is taking on greater weight, especially at the regional level. For example, whilst the Washington has threatened Iran with sanctions if it does not give up its nuclear program, Beijing and Moscow have threatened to use their veto power to block them if they come up at the United Nations. On September 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi on Monday morning for what is his first official visit there in the 35 year history of Russian-Emirates relations.

"Putin's historic visit to the UAE is part of Russia's stated intention of bolstering ties with Arab and Muslim countries," the main daily English language newspaper Gulf News reported Monday and added that trade exchange between Russia and Emirates is expected to reach a record US$800 million this year. The two sides will "naturally, discuss the military-technical cooperation," Russian presidential aide Prikhodko said without providing details, but suggested that the Emirates might be interested in Russian air defense weapons.

The Russian – China - Iran alliance

The cooperation between Moscow and Teheran in a variety of important sectors is becoming more and more intense but is far from representing an exclusive partnership, Moscow's aim is to develop a network of alliances, China and India, in order to propose a valid alternative to US economical and political hegemony.

A TEHRAN MOSCOW BEIJING AXIS AGAINST THE WEST on GlobalSecurity.org 3September 2001, Volume 4, Number 33 reported: Expediency Council Chairman and former President Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani described trilateral cooperation between Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing as "strategic" during a meeting with the new Russian ambassador, Aleksandr Maryasov, according to state television on 13 August. He added that this three-way cooperation could serve as a counterweight against the West and the U.S., and it would alter international conditions, according to IRNA.

On September 4, 2007 Iran's influential Assembly of Experts elected Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as its chairman in a move that could strengthen the pragmatic former president's position in the political hierarchy. "Legally speaking, Mr. Rafsanjani is now in a higher position than Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei [the supreme leader] but it is early to say how he will use this position," said Ahmad Zeidabadi, a political analyst.

Source: http://www.enterstageright.com/archi...russiaeast.htm

Continue...

[Armenian]

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

Red World: Venezuela, Latin America's newest socialist republic moving is toward single-party dictatorship and strategic partner of Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and Havana

The Caribbean provides access to the soft underbelly of the United States and is another strategic choke point for shipping to the US. Chavez is chummy with almost anyone who opposes the U.S. -- plain and simple. Some of these ties are quite troubling. He clearly idolizes Castro the most, inspiring some to dub him Castro's Mini-Yo (Mini-Me).

Venezuela is helping to keep the failed Cuban system on life support by providing some 50,000 barrels of oil per day at concessionary prices in exchange for a bevy of Cuban teachers, doctors and sports instructors. Chavez seems willing to increase oil deliveries to Cuba with every photo op he gets with his valued mentor and strategic adviser, Castro, to burnish his leftist Latino credentials. As such, some expect oil deliveries to Cuba to double this year. But Cuba is also providing intelligence and security officers to Venezuela. They've helped Chavez develop an improved intelligence capability -- and undermine the political opposition in true Cuban style. Cuban military advisers are also present, making Venezuelan officers increasingly anxious about the creeping influence of Havana in military matters. Caracas is also sending officers to Cuba for training -- and, undoubtedly, political indoctrination.

Like Castro, who partnered with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Chavez is making common cause with other American enemies -- including the world's most active state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. Chavez meets with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regularly in Venezuela and Iran. Last year, they revealed plans for a $2 billion joint fund, part of which will be used as a "mechanism for liberation" against U.S. allies. The concern in the relationship is Caracas may be looking to Tehran for help with a so-called "peaceful" nuclear program. In addition to supporting Iran's nuclear bid in international forums, Chavez has publicly expressed interest in nuclear energy. Thankfully, other regional states with civilian nuclear power programs, such as Argentina and Brazil, have shunned Venezuela, seeing helping Chavez as risky. But Iran, ever eager to keep the U.S. off-balance, might just be willing to lend a hand.

And don't forget about (already) nuclear North Korea. Venezuelan and North Korean military delegations have traipsed back and forth on numerous occasions between Caracas and Pyongyang. Both sides deny anything other than routine exchanges. Although nothing has yet materialized, North Korean ballistic missiles could be on Venezuela's shopping list. Pyongyang is the world's most prodigious proliferators of missiles; Venezuela might be in the market for short-range Scuds or medium-range No-Dongs. With North Korea possibly backing down on their nuclear enrichment activities, only time will tell how these relations will develop.

The potentially unemployed North Korean scientists may find a new life in Iran, Syria or Venezuela. Venezuela isn't known to be supporting Islamic terrorism -- at the moment. But it does seem to turn a blind eye, at a minimum, to the FARC and ELN narco-terrorists and other regional paramilitary groups that cross the border to regroup and resupply in Venezuela. Support, of course, in the future may go well beyond the provision of safe haven. Venezuela has been accused of providing both the FARC and ELN with older-model small arms and ammunition.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believes Venezuelan airports and ports have become major cocaine trafficking routes from Colombia into the Caribbean, and onward to both the U.S. and Europe. Although not pointing a finger at the central government, the DEA believes that these drug flights to the Caribbean from Venezuela have doubled in recent years. Counterpunching, Chavez recently charged the DEA with trafficking drugs. With these economic ties, the People's Republic is also building military and political ties in the Latin world - especially with regimes like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez which are hostile to U.S. policies.

One of the most eye-popping elements of Chavismo is Venezuela's arms purchases. Flush with oil profits, Chavez, a former army lieutenant colonel, has been buying as much shiny military hardware as possible. Since 2005, he's spent more than $4 billion on foreign weapons, making tiny Venezuela one of the world's most aggressive arms purchasers. In 2006 alone, arms spending were up 13 percent, according to some estimates. Venezuela is China's closest political ally in South America and has the most extensive military cooperation with the Chinese in Latin America outside of Cuba. It has bought three JYL-1 mobile air defense radars and is looking at also buying fighter jets from China.

In March 2007, Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, visited senior Venezuelan officials to exchange ideas on the development of bilateral relations with Venezuela. Li met Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, in the Miraflores presidential palace. There he said that since the establishment of the China-Venezuela strategic association, and especially in recent years, relations had entered a new phase characterized by frequent high-level visits, growing political trust and collaboration. This is the first high-level official visit by a Chinese official since Zeng Qinghong, China's vice-president, visited Venezuela in January 2005.

He added that China is certain that cooperation to the benefit of both nations is in the fundamental interest of both nations, and that China seeks to increase strategic consensus with Venezuela. He also said that the CPC regards exchanges with the Fifth Republic Movement party, founded by Chavez, as very important and called for closer cooperation between the two. Li and Chavez signed economic and technological cooperation. Venezuela and China created a US$6 billion (euro4.5 billion) fund on March 26, 2007 to boost energy cooperation and finance joint development projects between the two countries. The fund - aimed at increasing Venezuelan oil exports to China from 150,000 to 800,000 barrels a day - was part of a series of agreements signed following a meeting between Chavez and Li Changchun,

"We have brought bilateral relations to a strategic point," Chavez said. "I don't think China has made a decision like this with any other country in half a century. We must thank them for their trust."

Venezuela will invest US$2 billion (euro1.5 billion) in the fund, which will also be used to build railroads, telecommunications networks and shipyards in the South American country, while China will allocate US$4 billion (euro3 billion) for the fund. Under Chavez, Venezuela - one of the world's largest oil exporters - has fostered increasingly close ties with China as it seeks new markets for its petroleum beyond the United States - its top buyer. China is the world's second-largest consumer of oil and third-biggest importer. Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, plans to spend US$2.2 billion (euro1.66 billion) to more than triple its fleet of tankers by 2012 to reach remote Asian markets. Venezuela exports about 15 percent of its crude and other oil products to Asia but seeks to raise that to 45 percent - approximately 1 million barrels a day - within five years. Such a shift would significantly impact US supply.

Venezuela says it produces about 3.3 million barrels a day, but many outside sources - including the International Energy Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the U.S. Energy Information Agency - put actual production closer to about 2.5 million barrels a day. On September 11, 2007 Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-owned oil company agreed that China National Petroleum Corp. will invest more than $10 billion in a heavy-oil venture in Venezuela's Faja del Orinoco region. The venture is intended to produce as much as a million barrels a day in the region, PDVSA said on its Web site Tuesday, citing a statement by Rafael Ramirez, the minister of energy and oil. President Hugo Chavez has pledged to increase oil exports to China as part of his effort to reduce reliance on the U.S. market and to cement ties with countries with what he says is compatible ideologies.

Iranian Alliances

Iran, either independently or in concert with Russia has also extended their global alliance network. Iran is a supporter of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine and Syria effectively stretching their influence to the Mediterranean. As also noted, Iran is active in Venezuela and Cuba. Hezbollah cells also operate in the US. Iran is seeking relations with Turkey. In the Qandil (Kandil) Mountains, where Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria all meet lies the ancestral homeland of the Kurds, known in history as the Medes, who were partners with Persia in defeating Babylon. Ancient Babylon, celebrated as a fount of law, writing and urban living, sits just outside the modern-day city of Hilla, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Hilla is neither haunted by Sunni insurgents nor overwhelmed by Shiite militias. And though it has a mix of Shiites and Sunnis, it has not been afflicted by the sectarian violence that has paralyzed so many other heterogeneous parts of Iraq.

You can imagine my interest, therefore, in a front-page story on April 18, 2006 "Babylon Awaits an Iraq Without Fighting" in the New York Times that reported the following: "Babylon, the mud-brick city with the million-dollar name, has paid the price of war. It has been ransacked, looted, torn up, paved over; neglected and roughly occupied….But Iraqi leaders and United Nations officials are not giving up on it. They are working assiduously to restore Babylon, home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and turn it into a cultural center and possibly even an Iraqi theme park."

Over the years, colonial powers took artifacts and Saddam Hussein built on Nebuchadnezzar's palace. Then, the Iraq war. Famous sites, like the Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens, are swallowed up by river reeds. The mayor of the area says, God willing, they will even put up a Holiday Inn.

"The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is pumping millions of dollars into protecting and restoring Babylon and a handful of other ancient ruins in Iraq," noted correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman. "UNESCO has even printed up a snazzy brochure, with Babylon listed as the premier destination, to hand out to wealthy donors."

Turkey has been legitimately afraid that in return for Kurdish assistance in deposing Saddam Hussein (it was the Kurds who located Saddam and tipped off US troops) the US would permit at least unofficial attempts to establish a Kurdish homeland on land that Turkey claims. Turkey has maintained up to 20,000 troops on its border with Iraq to prevent such a move. And in fact the US has been vacillating on the Kurdish issue, even publishing a map of the region showing the presence of a Kurdish entity. US officials later claimed it didn't accurately reflect US policy. Turkey is skeptical.

Iran sees this situation as an opportunity to further strengthen its regional position and has teamed up with Turkey to assist in removing a force of 5000 Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) soldiers from the area where Iran abuts Iraq in the Qandil Mountains. According to several news and intelligence sources they already have positioned troops some 7-8 km inside Iraq and have begun shelling the mountain hideouts. The situation for Turkey offers some big incentives. Not only do they get help in spanking the PUK, but have made it known that they have their eye on Kirkuk, an Iraqi city in the area that produces 40% of Iraq's oil output, and that Turkey had made claim to before.

For its part Iran also sees a chance grab a chunk of Northern Iraq for itself. In addition Iran wants to destroy forward intelligence positions the Israelis may have secretly placed among the Kurds to help them receive the earliest possible warning of an Iranian attack on Israel. Knocking out these posts would give the Iranians two significant victories against the Israelis within the span of just a few months, the war in Lebanon being the other. The loss of this intelligence would no doubt reduce the possibility for a successful US-Israeli attack against Iran, too. Many observers believe it's already too late to stop the Turkey-Iran initiative. The question is whether it will blossom into yet another Mid-East war pitting the US, Iraq, and Israel against Iran, Turkey, and possibly Syria.

On March 31, 2007, In Overture to Iran, Qaddafi Declares North Africa Shi'ite and Calls for Establishment of New Fatimid State (MEMRI Special Dispatch Series – No 1535 of April 6, 2007). Libyan leader Mu'ammar Qaddafi called, in a speech in Niger to Tuareg tribal leaders, for the establishment of a second Shi'ite Fatimid state in North Africa, after the model of the 10th-13th century empire that ruled North Africa, Egypt, and parts of the Fertile Crescent. In his speech, Qaddafi denounced the division of Muslims into Sunni and Shi'ite as a colonialist plot, and rebuked the Arab League members for "hating Iran."

Source: http://www.enterstageright.com/archi...russiaeast.htm

[Siamanto]

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

Although there are some military and economic alliances in existence today amongst some Eastern European nations, I think this is a good time to begin a new ideological/ethical/cultural movement that has its roots in Orthodox Christianity. This theorized ideology can potentially bring closer together various Orthodox nations such as Russia, Serbia, Greece, Armenia, and why not Georgia.

I think such a new movement would be essential in creating ties that can go way past the current geostrategic and economic ones that exists.

Instead of only a couple of centuries, why shouldn't we mentally regress a couple of thousands years? Would the worship of the Sun prove to be too federative and, "God forbid" include non-Aryans??

However, I have a technical question: Did you check if there were enough caves in the above countries and/or would they be reserved to those "illuminatus?" who, like you, symbolize and enjoy "darkness?"

In the past, you have made numerous naive statements and/or reminiscent of dark ages; in the above, you have reached a new "height."



P.S. By the way, are you planing to consult similar minded "illuminatus" that are the Talibans and the neo-cons from Redneckville? They may give you useful tips.

[axel]

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

The unity of orthodox christians be them chalcedonian or not is something to be actively pursued both in the spiritual and cultural spheres. The bond with a resurgent Russia is of utmost importance for the future of Armenia as a spiritually strong (and thus free) nation in the ocean of globalized western decadence.

How can we possibly talk about human dignity without spiritual freedom? And where is spiritual freedom to be found if not in Christ, the Christ of orthodox christianity?

Of minor importance but worth to be noted, one of Russia's foremost theologian in the twentieth century, Pavel Florensky, who was martyred by the bolsheviks, was of armenian descent through his mother.

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Pavel_Florensky