The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[karoaper]

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

Russia is indeed a mentally abusive husband, but it's a husband that Armenians know how to deal with. They know what makes him tick and how to use him as well. After all, one thing about Russians, outside of being able to die at the battlefield in droves and dig miles of ditches, they really don't have many other talents, definitely very poor political and leadership skills, after all most of their leaders have been non-Russkies, except for some of the royal families and some party leaders. So, it's an abusive husband, but let's be honest, it's a dumb husband. Luckily for Russians, he's full of might. Might that Armenians are making good use of.

Also, by being within Russia's control, I feel Armenians are not sacrificing their principles or compromising their integrity. By not leaving the dumb husband, we are able to resist the advances of much sharper but more insidious folks, who would force us to give up all our rightous stances. Outside of the Baltic states, and possibly Ukraine, which has hated Moscow since world war I, Armenia is in the best shape among the old Soviet republics. We have the least corruption and to state again, we are staying on the path that is difficult but which at least points to the promise of justice in the future. Prostituion in politics is not the way it is in "Pretty Woman". And Georgians will find that out the hard way sooner or later.

The key for Armenia is to become a technology export nation, similar to what countries in Asia are doing. Armenia has the pedigree for this and the world-wide professional diaspora. If majority in this diaspora pitch in, Armenia could more than make up for the lack of natural resources. At the end of the day, the lack of these resources will be our salvation. Look at what happens to counties with abundant resources: a general dumbing down of population and a general increase in strife and corruption.

[TomServo]

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

I don't know if it is ever possible for the Georgians to stop being such backstabing opportunists and get out of bed with turks eventually. That would be one hell of a relief for Armenia.

Not going to happen.

[skhara]

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

If this zhid was chased out of Russia -- then what is he doing building a hospital in Moscow? hmmmm

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/10/29/abrhosp.shtml

[Armenian]

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

Kocharian Confirms Russian Control Of Iran-Armenia Pipeline

President Robert Kocharian confirmed on Monday that Russia’s state-run Gazprom monopoly will gain a controlling stake in Armenia’s national gas distribution company that will almost certainly own the incoming gas pipeline from Iran. Gazprom’s board approved and announced on Friday the issuance of additional shares in the ArmRosGazprom (ARG) operator, saying that it will buy all of them and thereby raise its ARG stake from 45 percent to 58 percent. Kocharian confirmed the information as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. “I would like to immediately inform you that all of our serious agreements on energy projects with Gazprom are entering the implementation phase,” he said in remarks posted on the Kremlin’s website. “Just a few days ago, they were finally approved by the Gazprom board.”

The Armenian government has until now owned another 45 percent of ARG, with the remaining 10 percent belonging to ITERA, a private Russian gas exporter. There has been no word yet on whether the Russian giant will pay Armenia anything for gaining control of its gas distribution network and further tightening the Russian grip on the Armenian energy sector. All the signs are that the ARG takeover is part of last April's controversial deal that allowed Armenia to avoid a doubling of in the price of gas imported from Russia until January 2009 in exchange for handing over more energy assets to Gazprom.

One of those assets is the incomplete but modern Fifth Unit of the country’s largest thermal power plant located in the central town of Hrazdan. Gazprom initially confirmed but later refuted reports that it will also get hold of the Armenian pipeline from Iran as part of the deal. Armenian officials also denied that. Nonetheless, Russian control of the first 40-kilometer Armenian section of the pipeline, slated for completion this winter, now seems a forgone conclusion. Prime Minister Andranik Markarian revealed last week Yerevan’s plans to incorporate the pipeline into ARG, saying that “it would be illogical to have two gas distribution networks in Armenia.”

The ARG chief executive, Karen Karapetian, likewise indicated on Friday that his company’s ownership of the pipeline is imminent. “The question is whether the Iran-Armenia pipeline will be a separate enterprise or will be given to ARG,” Karapetian told reporters. “In my view, giving to ARG would be logical.” “ARG has offered to take over that pipeline,” he added. The pipeline in question was supposed to end Armenia’s strong dependence on Russian gas and other energy resources. Critics say that by placing it under Russian control the Armenian government would only deepen that dependence. Moscow is thought to have already made sure that the pipeline’s diameter is not large enough to allow Iran to export its gas to Georgia and other countries via Armenia.

This and other economic issues apparently topped the agenda of Kocharian’s talks with Putin, who described as “shameful” the fact that Russia is only the third largest foreign investor in Armenia. “I say ‘shameful’ because it is odd that Russia does not occupy the first place in terms of investments in the economy of its strategic partner,” Putin said. It is not clear if the two men discussed the Kremlin’s controversial blockade of Georgia which is seriously hurting Armenian companies trading with Russia. Meeting with their Russian colleagues earlier this month, senior Armenian lawmakers exposed Yerevan’s frustration with Moscow’s perceived failure to reckon with the interests of its main regional ally in its dealings with the pro-Western government in Tbilisi. Some of the visiting Russian parliamentarians demanded, for their part, that Armenia make a clear-cut “choice” between Russia and Georgia.

However, the Kocharian administration has avoided taking sides in the latest Georgian-Russian confrontation, expressing hope for its peaceful settlement. Parliament speaker Tigran Torosian reiterated those hopes at a meeting with the Georgian ambassador to Armenia, Revaz Gachechiladze, on Monday. According to Torosian’s office, Gachechiladze praised Yerevan’s stance as “balanced and acceptable to the international community.”

Source: http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...F0CF256EEA.ASP

Vladimir Putin finds “shameful” inactiveness of Russian investors in Armenia

On October 30Russia’s President Vladimir Putin received Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan, who is on a work visit in Moscow. As a REGNUM correspondent reports, before the talks with Robert Kocharyan, the Russian president said he found it “shameful” that “Russia is only third in investments to the economy of its strategic partner.” At the same time, the Russian president noted that for the last year goods turnover between Russia and Armenia increased by 60%, which indicates development of the economic relations.

In his turn, Robert Kocharyan informed that all Yerevan’s agreements with Gazprom are being implemented. “All the contracts on energy projects with Gazprom are entering the stage of implementation,” the Armenian president said, expressing hope for intensification of Russia’s investment policy. “Next year, the situation will change significantly, I cast no doubts on it,” Robert Kocharyan is quoted as saying. He also says that several days ago the process of complex modernization of the Russian-Armenian Armenal aluminum plant was completed.

Gazprom and the Armenian government signed the contract for 25 years. It outlines strategic principles of cooperation in gas and energy projects in the Armenian territory. The document envisages that ArmRosgazprom acquires the fifth energy reactor of the Hrazdan Nuclear Power Plant and gas facilities from the Armenian government. Final passing of property for the facilities is to be completed by January 1, 2007. On October 27, Gazprom Executive Board approved acquiring additional issue of ArmRosgazprom, as a result share of the Russian company in ArmRosgazprom authorized capital stock will increase from 45% to 58%. Source: http://www.regnum.ru/english/730619.html

Russia Ready to Control Railways of Armenia

The talks of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his Armenia's counterpart Robert Kocharian begin in Moscow today, October 30, 2006. The key issue of agenda is the last lucrative asset of Armenian infrastructure – its railway facilities. Moscow that just half a year ago, persuaded Armenia to buy Russia’s gas at $110/ths cu meters instead of $54/ths cu meters and insisted on transferring to Gazprom a portion of Iran-Armenia’s gas pipeline and Razdan Thermal Station is eyeing Armenian railway system now.

Three weeks ago, Armenia announced the intention to grant on concession its railways and is currently preparing a tender, which successful bidder will control the railways in the following 40 years. But Moscow has been long craving for reviving the through railway service via Sukhumi to Erevan, the capital of Armenia. In future, it may turn into a key component of North-South transport corridor, where Iran will participate. The interest is so high that Moscow will probably urge Kocharian to suggest the name of the winner to arrangers or to transfer the facilities to Russian Railways (RZD) with no tender at all.

Georgia could become another delicate issue to be raised at the talks. In the Kremlin, they are continuously looking for the methods to pressurize Mikhail Saakashvili. Georgia fears one of the options could be halting electric energy deliveries from Russia and Armenia in winter. Another concern of Georgia is its Samtshe-Dzhavakhetia region, which is the whereabouts for around 200,000 ethnic Armenians. There, the atmosphere is rather heated as many locals used to work at the Akhalkalaki base, of which Russia’s military are pulling out today. So, Moscow may prompt Armenia to stage some turmoil there. Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p717464/r_...enia_railways/

Kocharyan urges Putin to use bilateral contacts in future

MOSCOW, October 30 (Itar-Tass) - Armenian President Robert Kocharyan called on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to work out mechanisms on using contacts between the two countries during Year of Armenia to Russia.

Kocharyan said, “During Year of Armenia to Russia we implemented everything. In addition, we’ve been made interesting proposals from regions. We’d like these contacts to be effective in the future. It would be pity if they did not yield concrete results.”

President Putin said Year of Armenia to Russia was successful. “In general, we maintain humanitarian contacts at the highest level,” he said. Source: http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?N...7129&PageNum=0

[Armenian]

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

Russian Aluminum Giant Reopens Modernized Yerevan Plant

Russia’s number one aluminum manufacturer inaugurated on Thursday its newly modernized Armenian subsidiary, presenting it as the most advanced facility of its kind in Europe. Top executives from the Russky Allyuminii (Rusal) group announced the completion of a two-year renovation of the Yerevan-based aluminum foil plant Armenal, saying that it has cost $80 million in capital investments and promising a sharp increase in its production levels.

“The plant will be manufacturing foil of the highest quality,” Aleksandr Livxxxxs, Rusal’s vice-chairman, said at a special ceremony attended by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian and other senior Armenian officials. “Almost all of the production will be exported, and Armenal will provide Armenia with more taxes, jobs and hard currency.”

Armenal was founded as a Russian-Armenian joint venture in 2000 on the ashes of the Kanaker Aluminum Plant, an industrial giant which employed thousands of people in Soviet times. Rusal gained full ownership of the plant in December 2002 and seems to have breathed new life in it since then. It borrowed $50 million from a German bank and claims to have invested $30 million of its own resources to turn Armenal into what Livxxxxs described as “the best aluminum foil plant in Europe.”

Livxxxxs said new state-of-the-art equipment supplied and installed there by a German engineering firm will enable Armenal to produce up to 25,000 tons of aluminum rolls and foil a year. The company’s aggregate output stood at just 5,500 tons and 9,000 tons in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

Livxxxxs said the Russian group is now considering increasing its production capacity to 40,000 tons. He also promised lavish pay rises for more than a thousand people working at Armenal. “I have instructed the Armenal management to pay, pay and pay. The more, the better,” he told them. Markarian praised Rusal’s track record in Armenia, saying that it underscores the importance of foreign investment for the country’s economic development.

Rusal controls nearly 80 percent of aluminum production in Russia and ranks second worldwide in the sector. Its largest shareholder, billionaire Oleg Deripaska, is one Russia’s best-known “oligarchs” who hugely benefited from controversial privatization policies pursued by the administration of former President Boris Yeltsin during the 1990s. Livxxxxs, for his part, used to be Yeltsin’s top economic adviser and at one point served as Russia’s finance minister.

Source: http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...A862261DCB.ASP

[Armenian]

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

Russia is indeed a mentally abusive husband, but it's a husband that Armenians know how to deal with. They know what makes him tick and how to use him as well. After all, one thing about Russians, outside of being able to die at the battlefield in droves and dig miles of ditches, they really don't have many other talents, definitely very poor political and leadership skills, after all most of their leaders have been non-Russkies, except for some of the royal families and some party leaders. So, it's an abusive husband, but let's be honest, it's a dumb husband. Luckily for Russians, he's full of might. Might that Armenians are making good use of.

Also, by being within Russia's control, I feel Armenians are not sacrificing their principles or compromising their integrity. By not leaving the dumb husband, we are able to resist the advances of much sharper but more insidious folks, who would force us to give up all our rightous stances. Outside of the Baltic states, and possibly Ukraine, which has hated Moscow since world war I, Armenia is in the best shape among the old Soviet republics. We have the least corruption and to state again, we are staying on the path that is difficult but which at least points to the promise of justice in the future. Prostituion in politics is not the way it is in "Pretty Woman". And Georgians will find that out the hard way sooner or later.

The key for Armenia is to become a technology export nation, similar to what countries in Asia are doing. Armenia has the pedigree for this and the world-wide professional diaspora. If majority in this diaspora pitch in, Armenia could more than make up for the lack of natural resources. At the end of the day, the lack of these resources will be our salvation. Look at what happens to counties with abundant resources: a general dumbing down of population and a general increase in strife and corruption.

This commentary is in line with my views on Russo-Armenian relations. However, let's not forget that a big dumb husband can make big dumb mistakes. And when such mistakes happen, it is the wife that ends up suffering as a result. For Russia, Armenia is just a strategic foothold in the Caucasus, nothing else. However, a nation's 'strategy' is based upon various factors, all of which are relative to perception, economy, capability, political situation, etc. Thus, strategy, or political formulations, runs the risk of changing from time to time.

[Armenian]

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

By the way what's a good slogan to use for the Iranian masses? "Aryan Brotherhood"?

Aryan brotherhood - I like it.

But don't let those freaks in Stormfront hear of it.

I don't know if it is ever possible for the Georgians to stop being such backstabing opportunists and get out of bed with turks eventually. That would be one hell of a relief for Armenia.

Georgians are by nature anti-Armenian and anti-Russian. Don't expect any chages in their national mentality. One hell of a relief for Armenia would be when Armenian forces move north to the Black Sea.

[gmd]

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

Aryan brotherhood - I like it.

But don't let those freaks in Stormfront hear of it.



Georgians are by nature anti-Armenian and anti-Russian. Don't expect any chages in their national mentality. One hell of a relief for Armenia would be when Armenian forces move north to the Black Sea.

Based on the information you provided in this thread Armenian forces will not move anywhere without Russian orders.
Your assessment of Armenia's predicament is enlightening and disconcerting. There is no guarantee of Armenia's continued survival or independence unless our nation and people undertake the development of WMD and a Zionist will to use it.

[Armenian]

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

Gazprom to double Georgia charges

Russian energy giant Gazprom has said it will more than double prices of gas supplies to Georgia from 2007. Gazprom said it would charge Tbilisi $230 (£121) for 1,000 cubic metres of gas, compared with the $110 cost now. Russia has often been accused of using Gazprom, a state-controlled natural gas monopoly, as a political weapon to keep its neighbours in line. Georgia's foreign minister is in Moscow for talks in an effort to defuse tensions between the two nations. Gela Bezhuashvili will take part in the first high-level talks between Georgia and Russia since a diplomatic crisis soured bilateral relations in September.

Postal blockade

The crisis began when Georgia, which relies heavily on Russia for exports and imports, arrested four Russian officers for alleged spying. The Kremlin hit back with an air, sea and postal blockade on Georgia and a crackdown on Georgian migrants in Russia. A ban on key Georgian exports, such as wine and mineral water, has also been in place for months, with Russia citing health concerns. Last month, Georgia's biggest gas importer, Energy Invest, claimed that Gazprom was looking to raise 2007 prices to between $170 and $250. Georgia will buy 360 million cubic metres of gas from Gazprom next year, up from 250 million cubic metres this year.

'Political decision'

Gazprom has said it will stop subsidising economies in the former USSR and will look for payments closer to its European export prices, currently at around $230-$250 per 1,000 cubic metres. After the Gazprom announcement Georgia's state minister for economic reforms, Kakha Bendukidze, said the increase had been expected. "I don't know if this price is final but to me it is clear that this is not a market price, this is a political decision," Mr Bendukidze told the Reuters news agency. Mr Bendukidze said he would be observing what price Gazprom offered to Georgia's neighbours Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Relations between Georgia and Russia have been rocky since the 2004 election of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who wants to boost ties with the West and join Nato in 2008. Last week, President Vladimir Putin accused the Georgian leadership of wanting to retake the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by force.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6108950.stm

[Armenian]

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

Russia, Iran: Brothers in Arms

With the Iran-Iraq War winding down in 1987, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini reportedly told a roomful of ambassadors: “Today Iran is so isolated that we can count the number of our friends on one hand.” Two decades later, with the UN Security Council weighing punitive options against it, Iran remains isolated but can count on at least one supporter among its neighbors: Russia.

The burgeoning partnership between Iran and Russia threatens to unravel UN efforts to squeeze Tehran to forego its nuclear ambitions. A veto-wielding member of the Security Council, Russia has thus far resisted efforts to punish the Iranians for forging ahead with their enrichment activities and ignoring a raft of UN resolutions. Of course, Moscow is motivated by fears of losing lucrative business opportunities, not to mention an important ally in the region. Bilateral trade eclipsed $2 billion in 2005, and as this new Backgrounder explains, Russia now supplies the bulk of Iran’s conventional arms. That includes a proposed air-defense system that would give Iran a credible deterrent against any American or Israeli move to strike its nuclear installations. Russia also built a light-water nuclear power plant at Bushehr, an $8 billion project set to go online as early as next year (GlobalSecurity.org).

Brenda Shaffer of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy calls Russia and Iran “partners in need,” motivated mainly by three ends: curbing U.S. influence, maintaining a multipolar world, and undermining U.S. efforts to sideline both states (take, for example, the new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline which skirts both Iran and Russia). Yet Michael Eisenstadt, writing in Arms Control Today, says cooperation between the two countries “is driven as much by fear and mistrust as it is by opportunism and shared interests.” Regardless, closer Russia-Iran ties pose challenges to peace in the Middle East, analysts say, especially if Iran goes nuclear over the next decade.

Russia maintains Tehran’s nuclear program is peaceful and poses no threat to Iran’s neighbors (Reuters), much less to the United States. Yet Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says his agency is still “unable to confirm the peaceful nature of Iran´s nuclear program.” Moscow continues to voice its opposition to sanctions not only out of economic interest but also on the grounds that, as an instrument of diplomacy, their track record is suspect.

The most recent draft proposal before the Security Council calls for a ban on Iranian students of nuclear physics from studying abroad and denies visas to Iranian nuclear scientists (IANS). Yet Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, calls these efforts “feeble” (NYSun). Mohsen Sazegara, a U.S.-based Iranian dissident, suggests tough talk and smart sanctions are in order. “The most important thing for the international community is to talk to the regime of Iran firmly and strongly,” he told CFR.org. Meanwhile, CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot says only sanctions against Iranian exports of crude would cripple the regime in Tehran but that “would require a concerted international effort. Don’t hold your breath” (LAT). Instead, he proposes a “soft” approach that includes, among other things, reestablishing an American embassy in Tehran in exchange for a suspension of Iran’s nuclear program.

Source: http://www.cfr.org/publication/11873/russia_iran.html

Russia Defends Supply Of Missiles To Iran

(RTTNews) - Russia on Wednesday defended its agreement to supply air defense missiles to Iran. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in an interview with Russia Today television on Wednesday that the air defense missiles Russia had agreed to supply to Iran last December are purely defensive weapons with a limited range. He stressed that the missiles were purely defensive and added that they cannot be used in offensive operations. He said that the missiles that are to be supplied by Russia have a very limited range and could be used to defend only "a small part of the Iranian territory." Earlier, Russia had rejected the Western demand to cancel its $700 million contract to sell 29 Tor-M1 air defense missile systems to Iran as per an agreement signed last December. Source http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=25186