The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Azad]

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

This HYPOCRITE should not be elected. He will screw the whole equation with Russia and Iran.

"Paris, 12 June {No. 96-115}- Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossian today met with Director-General Federico Mayor and made a gift to the Organization of a replica of a 13th century Armenian stone cross, or khachkar.

"This monument is the symbol of Armenia, the symbol of a particular Christianity," President Ter-Petrossian said during an unveiling ceremony of the stone cross in a garden beside the Headquarters Building."

http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/96-115e.htm

Now tell us what symbols are your wife and your kids for Armenia?


Can anyone guesstimate how much support this ape has compare to Serg Sarkisyan?

[Armenian]

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

Can anyone guesstimate how much support this ape has compare to Serg Sarkisyan?

I just got off the telephone with a close friend in Yerevan. I was told that there was around fifty thousand people at the rally in support of Levon Ter-Petrosian. That is a relatively large number for a small nation like Armenia.

To tel you the truth, I'm just as astounded by anyone else: How can anyone in their right minds support that treasonous criminal? But that's Armenians for you... Regarding the elections, let me put it this way: If the opposition unites in an effective front Serge Sarkisian would have no chance of getting elected - democratically. Sadly, Armenians in Armenia tend to think with their empty stomachs and Armenians in the diaspora tend to think with their massive egos. And when you add this to the fact that Armenians in general have no comprehension about international politics, what you get is a very strange citizenry.

And this again highlights what I have been saying for many years: As soon as the current administration in Yerevan gets weakened there are dubious forces waiting on the horizon to assume power. Regardless of ones sentiments towards the less-than ideal leaders of Armenia today, Kocharyan or Sarkisian, we must realize that they are the best option we have - geopolitically. Anyway, these are the reasons why I have more confidence in Moscow to keep Yerevan on the straight path than on the voting constituency in Armenia.

The practice of "democracy" today in a nation like Armenia can potentially be a suicidal act.

[Lucin]

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

I just got off the telephone with a close friend in Yerevan. I was told that there was around fifty thousand people at the rally in support of Levon Ter-Petrosian.

Fifty thousand??? But is he sure? I just watched the rally on TV, and I can tell you that there were probably ten thousand people gathered, maximum. There were also a few other known faces next to LTP.

[Armenian]

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

Fifty thousand??? But is he sure? I just watched the rally on TV, and I can tell you that there were probably ten thousand people gathered, maximum.

That is what I was told. Perhaps the number was based on what the opposition was stating. I don't know. But the rally was "very large" according to my information. Nonetheless, A-1 Plus media is stating that the number was over 35-40 thousand. Regardless of the exact number of the rally, it is now obvious that Levon Ter-Petrosian continues to have a considerable following in the country. Even taking into consideration how politically immature Armenians are, that is a total shock for me.

[Armenian]

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

Armenia Seeks Major Curbs On Western Vote Monitoring



Armenia has joined Russia, Belarus and four Central Asian states in demanding serious restrictions on the often troublesome Western monitoring of their elections, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe confirmed on Friday. The OSCE’s election-monitoring arm, the Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said it is bewildered by Yerevan’s decision to back the move just months before Armenia’s crucial presidential election. Under proposals tabled by Russia to the OSCE’s Vienna-based governing council on September 18, the ODIHR-led election observer missions deployed in OSCE member states would comprise no more than 50 people. They would be barred from assessing the conduct of those elections before the announcement of their official results. More importantly, the Russian proposals, would enable the OSCE’s 56 member governments to influence the content of observer reports.

The Russian initiative, backed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, came in advance of Russia’s December 2 parliamentary elections and presidential vote scheduled for next March. Moscow has yet to formally invite the OSCE to monitor the polls. Although this is not the first time Armenia endorses Russian criticism of OSCE efforts at democracy building in the former Soviet Union, its latest move is somewhat unexpected given Western observers’ largely positive assessment of its May 2007 parliamentary elections. The vote was monitored by more than 200 OSCE representatives. The previous Armenian parliamentary and presidential elections were criticized by the OSCE as undemocratic.

“We observed elections in Armenia earlier this year and Armenia did not have any problems with the number of our observers and their findings,” ODIHR spokeswoman Urdur Gunnarsdottir told RFE/RL. “So we don’t see any good reason why Armenia would support such a proposal now.” Gunnarsdottir said the head of the ODIHR, Christian Strohal, raised the issue with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and other Armenian official during a visit to Yerevan earlier this week. Official Armenian sources made no mention of this, saying only that Strohal discussed preparations for the upcoming presidential elections.

Echoing arguments made by Russian officials, a spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Yerevan supports the proposed restrictions on OSCE vote monitoring “in the light of ongoing reforms of the OSCE.” “Armenia is actively involved in the process of reforms and believes it is important that the organization become more representative, transparent and equal for everyone,” Vladimir Karapetian told RFE/RL. The United States criticized the Russian proposals on Thursday. "The U.S. would not want to see ODIHR's effectiveness weakened under the guise of 'reform,"' said Kyle Scott, deputy chief of the U.S. mission to the OSCE. "The Russian proposals do nothing to strengthen its work.”

“From the point of view of an election observer, it is not a good proposal and flies in the face of what we have been doing for the last ten years,” agreed Gunnarsdottir. “I don’t really see why there is a need to limit the number of observers and their ability to speak about their findings.”

Source: http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...6A5B49F27E.ASP

Vote Monitors Feeling Unwelcome

Less than six weeks before the State Duma elections, international organizations remain in the dark as to whether their observers will be allowed to monitor the vote because Moscow has yet to issue a single invitation. Even if, as a Central Elections Commission member said, the invitations will be issued soon, a source at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's headquarters in Vienna said Thursday that it was likely to send only half as many observers as it did for the last Duma vote. In 2003, the OSCE contingent numbered 450 members.

The OSCE, its parliamentary assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are all still waiting for invitations, spokespeople said Thursday. Hardest hit by the uncertainty is the OSCE, which has traditionally sent the largest delegation. The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which is responsible for putting together the monitoring mission, said it received an invitation to monitor the 2003 vote, held on Dec. 9, in mid-September.

"Any delay makes our work difficult," Urdur Gunnarsdottir, a spokeswoman for the office, said Thursday by telephone from Warsaw. Igor Borisov, a member of the Central Elections Commission, said invitations would be sent out when the party registration process is completed. "They could be sent as early as Monday," he said, adding that observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States would also be invited. Gunnarsdottir declined to say how many observers would be sent once the invitation was received, adding that it was possible that Moscow would limit their number. But she stressed that she hoped the mission would be effective. "Size is not everything," she said.

Andrei Davydov, head of the Central Elections Commission's external relations department, said this week the commission wanted to lower the number of monitors. Davydov said organizations should send tens, rather than hundreds, of observers, Kommersant reported. Moscow has proposed a significant reduction in numbers, according to a confidential draft proposal circulated last month to the OSCE. The document, published Thursday by The New York Times on its web site, calls for monitoring missions to be limited to 50 people. Co-signed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the document also suggests that the monitors' official reports go through the OSCE Permanent Council before being published. Because the council works on the principle of unanimity, meaning that each of the OSCE's 56 member states, including Russia and the other authors of the document, could prevent a report from being issued.

It would also mean that the head of a monitoring mission would not be able to make public remarks about the vote before the OSCE's main body met. For its part, Moscow denies that it wants to limit the activities of foreign observers. "The aim is to make the rules more effective and representative," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said about the proposal Thursday. The head of the OSCE monitoring mission in 2003, Bruce George, lambasted that vote as a step backward in Russia's transition to democracy, calling the election process "fundamentally unfair." But Borisov, the elections commission member, complained that the OSCE treated Russia like a country with no experience in holding democratic elections. "This is already the fifth cycle of democratic elections," he said, adding that Russia was a democratic country and did not need international assistance in organizing elections. In the past, he argued, countries like Bulgaria or Turkey invited observers just a month before elections, with France waiting until just 17 days before the vote.

Sergei Yastrzhembsky, President Vladimir Putin's senior aide on European relations, said Russia was not abandoning its obligations within the framework of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. But he also warned that it was high time for other countries "to stop preaching" to Russia. "We do not want to listen to any lectures," Yastrzhembsky told reporters late Wednesday. A source in the OSCE said it was possible that the Kremlin could have ulterior motives in causing difficulties over the question of monitors. Moscow is backing a bid by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to chair the OSCE in 2009, a suggestion that has met with reservations from major Western members, including the United States and Britain. A decision is expected at the OSCE summit in late November in Madrid.

"There are a lot of bargaining chips in the OSCE," the source said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Ivan Melnikov, first deputy chairman of the Communist Party, said he did not want to dramatize the situation, because his party was popular enough to win votes even if the elections were rigged. "International observers will certainly be invited, if only because the authorities are seriously concerned that the vote appear legitimate," he said in e-mailed comments. "But they certainly do not want the foreign experts to be able to issue as harsh an assessment as they did of the last elections." Leonid Gozman, who tops the Union of Right Forces party list in St. Petersburg for the Duma vote, said the country's current leadership had reacted nervously to any attempts by civil society to monitor elections.

"The authorities have already decided that they don't need elections," Gozman said. "They know the result in advance." Central Elections Commission chief Vladimir Churov extolled Russia's electoral system in a question-and-answer session published in Wednesday's Komsomolskaya Pravda. "Our system is the most democratic and transparent," Churov said. "That I can say for sure." In April, Churov said in an interview with Kommersant that he thought monarchy was an eternal idea, although he conceded that it would probably be next to impossible to restore it in Russia.

Source: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/storie...10/26/003.html

[Armenian]

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

Putin: US Plan Evokes '62 Cuban Crisis



President Vladimir Putin on Friday evoked one of the most dangerous confrontations of the Cold War to highlight Russian opposition to a proposed U.S. missile defense system in Europe, comparing it to the Cuban missile crisis of 45 years ago. The comments — made at the end of a summit between Russia and European Union that failed to resolve several festering disputes — were the latest in a series of belligerent statements from the assertive Putin.

Emboldened by oil- and gas-fueled economic clout, Russia is increasingly at odds with Washington and much of Europe on issues ranging from Iran and Kosovo to energy supplies and human rights. Putin used a news conference at the summit's conclusion to reiterate Russia's stalwart opposition to U.S. plans to put elements of a missile defense system in the former Soviet bloc countries of Poland and the Czech Republic — both of which are now NATO members. "Analogous actions by the Soviet Union, when it deployed missiles in Cuba, prompted the 'Caribbean crisis,'" Putin said, using the Russian term for the Cuban missile crisis. "For us the situation is technologically very similar. We have withdrawn the remains of our bases from Vietnam, from Cuba, and have liquidated everything there, while at our borders, such threats against our country are being created," he said.

The October 1962 crisis erupted when President John F. Kennedy demanded that Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev remove his country's nuclear missiles from Cuba because they could have been used to launch a close-range attack on the United States. The Americans imposed a naval blockade on Cuba and the world teetered on the edge of war before the Soviets backed down. Putin also suggested that the tension was much lower than in 1962 because the United States and Russia are now "partners," not Cold War enemies. His relationship with President Bush, Putin said, helps solve problems, calling him a "personal friend." The Russian leader said there has been no concrete U.S. response to his counterproposals for cooperation on missile defense, but added that the United States is now listening to Russia's concerns about its plans and seeking to address them.

In Washington, White House press secretary Dana Perino underscored those remarks rather than the Cuban missile crisis analogy, saying "there's no way you could walk away without thinking that he thinks that we can work together." The U.S. plan is part of a wider missile shield involving defenses in California and Alaska which the United States says are to defend against any long-range missile attack from countries such as North Korea or Iran. Russia strongly opposes the idea, saying Iran is decades away from developing missile technology that could threaten Europe or North America, and it says the U.S. bases are aimed at spying on Russian facilities and undermining Russia's missile deterrent force.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters there were "clear historical differences between our plans to deploy a defensive missile system designed to protect against launch of missiles from rogue states, such as Iran, and the offensive nuclear-tipped capability of the missiles that were being installed in Cuba back in the 1960s." "I don't think that they are historically analogous in any way, shape or form," he said. Turning to his future, Putin said he would not assume presidential powers if he became prime minister after finishing his term next May. Putin is barred from seeking a third consecutive term in the March 2008 presidential election. But he suggested this month that he could become prime minister, leading to speculation that the substantial powers now invested in the presidency might be transferred to the prime minister.

"If someone thinks that I intend to move, let's say, into the government of the Russian Federation and transfer the fundamental powers there, that's not the case," Putin said. "There will be no infringement on the powers of the president of the Russian Federation, at least while it depends on me." After repeating his insistence that he does not intend to change the constitution in order to run for a third term, Putin said he had not yet decided where and in what capacity he would work as former president. He is expected to remain an influential figure in Russia. Putin will lead the ticket of the dominant United Russia party in December parliamentary elections. An overwhelming victory for the party could turn the legislature into a new power base for Putin and give him a claim to continued authority based on his popularity.

Putin traveled to Portugal, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, for talks with leaders of the 27-nation bloc. But despite a positive spin put on the meeting by Putin and EU President Jose Manuel Barroso — who called it "open, frank and productive" — the summit yielded no major breakthroughs. The EU and Russia have been without a new cooperation agreement for more than a year, during which time doubts have grown in many European capitals about the reliability of Russia's energy supplies and trade policies toward EU member nations, such as Poland. Topping the list of concerns is Russia's energy policy — the reliability of supplies and the intentions of state-run oil and gas companies. Russia already provides 30 percent of EU energy imports, including 44 percent of natural gas imports.

The state-controlled gas giant OAO Gazprom has recently moved to acquire assets in Europe and strike bilateral deals with some EU countries. That has led the EU to consider new restrictions on non-EU companies owning majority stakes in gas pipelines or electricity power grids without additional agreements — much to the Russians' consternation. Earlier, Putin tried to assure European leaders that Russian investment was not to be feared. "When we hear in some countries phrases like, 'The Russians are coming with their scary money,' it sounds a bit funny," he said.

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i...e10UAD8SH46DO3

[Armenian]

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

Norway's military: Russian bombers neared NATO summit on unusual practice run



OSLO, Norway - The Norwegian military says two Russian bombers on an unusual practice run neared today the Netherlands, where NATO defence ministers are meeting. Spokesman Lt.-Col. John Espen Lien says that another set of bombers earlier today flew unusually close to far northern Norwegian territory, but remained in international air space. Lien says that the later flight - by two Tupolev 160 strategic bombers - followed a course near the Norwegian coast and between Britain and Denmark, before turning back some 190 kilometres northwest of the Netherlands, where NATO defence ministers were meeting in the city of Noordwijk. Russia has routinely sent up bomber flights from its northern bases in recent months in what is broadly seen as a demonstration that its military is again potent, 16 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union left it with few resources. Russian Air Force spokesman Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky told the Russian Interfax-AVN news agency today that those flights were part of worldwide exercises. He said 10 Russian bombers, including the four near Norway, plus two reconnaissance planes and two refuelling tankers had flown practice missions over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, as well as over the Black Sea during the day.

Source: http://canadianpress.google.com/arti...nVfSXE_4UHAGZw

Inside Russia's Nuclear Bomber Base



Sky News Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHajGU_MHH0

The Russian military has told Sky News it will increase the number of flights by its strategic nuclear bombers along the edge of Nato airspace. A Tu-160 over Engels airbaseIt comes at a time when the relationship between the Kremlin and the West is at its lowest point since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia's Ministry of Defence says the flights are simply training missions. A large number of them take off from one of the country's largest airbases - Engels near the Southern city of Saratov. Sky News was given rare access to the base where Tu-95s and Tu-160s are stationed. They are in many ways Soviet relics but each one is nuclear capable. The Tu-95 was designed in the years after the Second World War as the Cold War forged the globe into two distinct political blocs. The Tu-160 is newer but hardly modern. It made its maiden flight in 1981. This has not stopped President Vladimir Putin from pressing both of them back into service. He ordered the resumption of the strategic flights in August; although there is evidence they started months before.

Mr Putin has been keen to portray himself as a muscular commander-in-chief. With massive revenues from oil and gas the country is slowly re-militarising and its defence budget has quadrupled since he took office in 2001. For the pilots at the base it means they can get back to a job they have struggled to do properly for more than a decade.

In the 1990s most of the planes were mothballed - grounded because there was not enough money for fuel. Tu-95s were grounded in the 1990sThe commander of the Engels base, Alexander Blazhenko, says he is surprised by the international concern and has accused the West of hypocrisy. "We are now only nearing the number of hours a British pilot spends in the air but that's already causing alarm," he said. "It's not fair - the RAF should be pleased they have more to do now."

The flights have tested the response of the Royal Air Force in a way that has not been seen since the end of the Cold War. Over the past few months the RAF has had to scramble fighter jets as Russian bombers approached British airspace. Russian pilot, Gennady Stekachev, flew one of those missions. ' Mission control' at the Engels airbase"The RAF planes came up pretty close to us," he said. "We waved hands, greeting each other and there was no animosity on either side." No hostility perhaps but the resumption of the flights is making Western governments uneasy. They question why the Kremlin needs to project itself in a way that has not been seen since the Cold War. From a Russian perspective the answer is this: The end of the Soviet Union saw the end of empire and prestige.

Russia's elites feel they were humiliated and the West took advantage in the dark days after the collapse of the USSR. Sky's Alex RossiWith huge amounts of money coming into the country as a result of the energy windfall, the rebuilding of the military is part of a wider process started by Putin - the restoration of pride and the rebuilding of a national identity.

This can be coupled with a more practical explanation as well: Russia needs to diversify. Its military industrial complex was massive during the Soviet Union. By reviving parts of it and by rehabilitating its arms-building expertise, Mr Putin can also help expand the economy's breadth. At present it is dangerously unbalanced and dependent on commodities like oil, gas and metals. All of this means the West will have to get used to a resurgent and assertive new Russia. The Kremlin wants to take its place again at the top table of the world order. There are certainly plenty of politicians here who believe a strong Russia is necessary as a counterweight to American power.

Ask them why and they point to Iraq as an example of the dangers of a unipolar world.

Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...289329,00.html

[skhara]

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

Putin: US Plan Evokes '62 Cuban Crisis

I said that before Putin.


In their place I would be considering bombing the Czech and Polish installations. Russia's modern military doctrine calls for a nuclear retaliation to a conventional attack by NATO.

[Illuminator]

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

Russia should treat this US missile shield exactly the way the US handled the missiles in Cuba. The US has to be stopped from this incursion.

Naturally those countries agreeing to this shield on their territory have to be dealt with most severely up to and including bombing them.

[Illuminator]

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

I just got off the telephone with a close friend in Yerevan. I was told that there was around fifty thousand people at the rally in support of Levon Ter-Petrosian. That is a relatively large number for a small nation like Armenia.

To tel you the truth, I'm just as astounded by anyone else: How can anyone in their right minds support that treasonous criminal? But that's Armenians for you... Regarding the elections, let me put it this way: If the opposition unites in an effective front Serge Sarkisian would have no chance of getting elected - democratically. Sadly, Armenians in Armenia tend to think with their empty stomachs and Armenians in the diaspora tend to think with their massive egos. And when you add this to the fact that Armenians in general have no comprehension about international politics, what you get is a very strange citizenry.

And this again highlights what I have been saying for many years: As soon as the current administration in Yerevan gets weakened there are dubious forces waiting on the horizon to assume power. Regardless of ones sentiments towards the less-than ideal leaders of Armenia today, Kocharyan or Sarkisian, we must realize that they are the best option we have - geopolitically. Anyway, these are the reasons why I have more confidence in Moscow to keep Yerevan on the straight path than on the voting constituency in Armenia.

The practice of "democracy" today in a nation like Armenia can potentially be a suicidal act.

Have to agree with you on all points you made.