Armenian News... A Topalian Petition + Extracts from Opera + Armenian Christmas link
Please sign the following petition against resolutions to be
debated in the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe
relating to Karabakh that are unbalanced and unfair.
(see article later on)
https://www.change.org/suggested?alert_id=&petition_id=5442018&use_rendr=true
NUKE SUMMIT INVITATION INDICATIVE OF AZERBAIJAN'S
aravot.am
lragir.am
WHY IS RUSSIA BRINGING FIGHTER AIRCRAFT TO ARMENIA?
Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator
08 January 2016
Transformation of Armenia to a Russian base is close to its end
The Russian media, referring to the press service of the Southern
Military District, informed that the Russian Airbase of Erebuni will
get a batch of MiG-29 jet fighter aircraft.
The sources note that most of these warplanes are worn and torn and
are under repair now. Some jets can carry nuclear weapons, while the
others, especially the ones produced for export, have no functions
at all. The message does not state that the planes will be brought
to Armenia. It only states that they will be used in defending the
borders of CIS.
On December 31 Vladimir Putin signed the updated strategy of the
Russian national security. According to it, Russia intends to take
its place in the world which will have multiple centers. In other
words, Russia admits that the world has one pole and Russia is not
that single pole.
At the same time, Moscow considers NATO expansion towards the east
and the attempts of "certain countries" to hinder integration in the
Eurasian space as a threat. In other words, Moscow announces that it
wants to become a pole and integrate its "own" region.
In fact, the warplanes brought to the Russian base in Armenia will
confront "attempts to hinder Eurasian integration" and help Russia
strengthen its foothold in the region. These planes will hinder the
appearance of other guarantees of security in Armenia offered by the
main "pole", i.e. the United States and NATO.
The question is how long the "main pole" will continue to offer. Last
July the Armenian deputy minister of defense Davit Tonoyan left for
the United States where he met with high-ranking officials of the
State Department and Pentagon. They spoke about some new programs of
defense cooperation.
While Tonoyan was visiting Washington, the head of the Russian General
Intelligence Department Igor Sergun visited Yerevan unexpectedly. The
U.S.-Armenia cooperation in the defense sphere has not been considered
since his visit and Tonoyan's return.
Two days later Sergun died but Russia hardly intends to change its
policy on Armenia. It is sending planes which will defend the borders
of CIS which includes Azerbaijan too, not the borders of Armenia.
Armenia will eventually become a Russian base, and the Armenian
leadership is not even asked what weapons are brought to Armenia, and
how this can affect the country's defense capability. They are asking
Georgia and Iran
https://www.change.org/suggested?alert_id=&petition_id=5442018&use_rendr=true
Extracts from the Opera Davit Bek performed by
London Armenian Opera
at the Royal College of Music in December 2015
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HoNQMdUo19Q&sns=fb
Armenian Christmas Church Service in London,
January 20 6
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zNscjcVzL9U&feature=youtu.be
London Armenian Opera
at the Royal College of Music in December 2015
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HoNQMdUo19Q&sns=fb
Armenian Christmas Church Service in London,
January 20 6
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zNscjcVzL9U&feature=youtu.be
Message from Christopher Walker:
Professor Christopher Clark, one of the great experts on World War I,
is giving talks on the war on BBC Radio 4 all this week at 1.45 pm.
Tomorrow 12 January, he is talking on the entry of the Ottoman
is giving talks on the war on BBC Radio 4 all this week at 1.45 pm.
Tomorrow 12 January, he is talking on the entry of the Ottoman
Empire on Germany's side in 1917. There is a possibility of
discussion of Armenia and the Genocide, but one can never be sure.
RFE/RL Report
Hundreds Hospitalized In Armenian Flu Outbreak
Ruzanna Gishian
08.01.2016
Hundreds of people, most of them children, have been hospitalized in
Armenia following an outbreak of influenza that has forced the
Armenian government to extend school holidays.
Hospitals across the country have struggled over the past week to cope
with a continuing inflow of patients suffering from flu, pneumonia and
other acute respiratory diseases. More than 560 people received urgent
treatment there as of Friday. The vast majority of them were young
children.
The Arabkir Medical Center, a children's hospital in Yerevan, was
packed with infected children, unable to receive more patients. "I
came here with my children on January 2," a young woman there told
RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "They both were in a severe
condition. One of them was discharged yesterday."
"We were hospitalized with usual flu symptoms: runny nose, fever,
weakness, coughing. But it emerged later that it's pneumonia," said
another mother.
The Armenian Ministry of Health has sought to downplay the mass
hospitalizations, saying that the situation is under control and that
hospitals across the country have sufficient medication to deal with
the seasonal viruses. Still, it asked the government on Thursday to
extend New Year's and Christmas holidays in the schools by one week,
until January 18. The ministry cited the need to "avoid complications"
and "prevent a further spread of infections."
Education Minister Armen Ashotian was quick to issue a corresponding
order to school administrations.
In a related development, the Yerevan Mayor's Office announced that
the city's policlinics providing primary healthcare will operate in a
"special regime" on Saturday and Sunday. The policlinics are normally
closed on weekends.
The situation was further aggravated by an outbreak late last month of
H1N1, a potentially deadly virus also known as swine flu. It led Prime
Minister Hovik Abrahamian to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday with
Health Minister Armen Muradian and other senior officials.
Muradian's ministry has reported 27 cases of swine flu to date. The
Yerevan daily "Haykakan Zhamanak" quoted Ara Asoyan, Armenia's chief
sanitary inspector, as saying that that four people died from
complications caused by H1N1 as of Thursday.
[President Obama has gone bonkers]
Hundreds Hospitalized In Armenian Flu Outbreak
Ruzanna Gishian
08.01.2016
Hundreds of people, most of them children, have been hospitalized in
Armenia following an outbreak of influenza that has forced the
Armenian government to extend school holidays.
Hospitals across the country have struggled over the past week to cope
with a continuing inflow of patients suffering from flu, pneumonia and
other acute respiratory diseases. More than 560 people received urgent
treatment there as of Friday. The vast majority of them were young
children.
The Arabkir Medical Center, a children's hospital in Yerevan, was
packed with infected children, unable to receive more patients. "I
came here with my children on January 2," a young woman there told
RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "They both were in a severe
condition. One of them was discharged yesterday."
"We were hospitalized with usual flu symptoms: runny nose, fever,
weakness, coughing. But it emerged later that it's pneumonia," said
another mother.
The Armenian Ministry of Health has sought to downplay the mass
hospitalizations, saying that the situation is under control and that
hospitals across the country have sufficient medication to deal with
the seasonal viruses. Still, it asked the government on Thursday to
extend New Year's and Christmas holidays in the schools by one week,
until January 18. The ministry cited the need to "avoid complications"
and "prevent a further spread of infections."
Education Minister Armen Ashotian was quick to issue a corresponding
order to school administrations.
In a related development, the Yerevan Mayor's Office announced that
the city's policlinics providing primary healthcare will operate in a
"special regime" on Saturday and Sunday. The policlinics are normally
closed on weekends.
The situation was further aggravated by an outbreak late last month of
H1N1, a potentially deadly virus also known as swine flu. It led Prime
Minister Hovik Abrahamian to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday with
Health Minister Armen Muradian and other senior officials.
Muradian's ministry has reported 27 cases of swine flu to date. The
Yerevan daily "Haykakan Zhamanak" quoted Ara Asoyan, Armenia's chief
sanitary inspector, as saying that that four people died from
complications caused by H1N1 as of Thursday.
[President Obama has gone bonkers]
NUKE SUMMIT INVITATION INDICATIVE OF AZERBAIJAN'S
AUTHORITY
Trend, Azerbaijan
Jan 7 2016
By Ilhame Isabalayeva - Trend:
Inviting the Azerbaijani president to the 4th Nuclear Security
Summit in Washington, the White House has strongly responded to the
anti-Azerbaijan campaigns of Armenian diaspora in the US, said Aydin
Mirzazadeh, deputy chairman of Azerbaijani Parliament's Committee
for Defense, Security and Combating Corruption.
Earlier, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential
administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations
department, tweeted that the US President Barack Obama invited
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to the 4th Nuclear Security Summit
in Washington, DC.
"Armenian diaspora periodically tries to strike at the international
authority of Azerbaijan, to achieve the imposition of sanctions on the
country by the United States," Mirzazadeh told Trend Jan. 6. "Despite
this, US President Barack Obama invited Azerbaijani president to the
4th Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington, DC."
He added that the invitation is an appreciation of Azerbaijan's
statehood.
"This summit has become an important event, which explores the stances
taken by influential countries' leaders with regard to the nuclear
safety," said Mirzazadeh. "And the fact that Barack Obama invited
Azerbaijani president shows Azerbaijan's authority on international
arena as a state, and how the world evaluates its development, and
contributions to security."
He also believes that the invitation to the summit is another proof
of Azerbaijan's authority on the international arena as an independent
state.
Trend, Azerbaijan
Jan 7 2016
By Ilhame Isabalayeva - Trend:
Inviting the Azerbaijani president to the 4th Nuclear Security
Summit in Washington, the White House has strongly responded to the
anti-Azerbaijan campaigns of Armenian diaspora in the US, said Aydin
Mirzazadeh, deputy chairman of Azerbaijani Parliament's Committee
for Defense, Security and Combating Corruption.
Earlier, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential
administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations
department, tweeted that the US President Barack Obama invited
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to the 4th Nuclear Security Summit
in Washington, DC.
"Armenian diaspora periodically tries to strike at the international
authority of Azerbaijan, to achieve the imposition of sanctions on the
country by the United States," Mirzazadeh told Trend Jan. 6. "Despite
this, US President Barack Obama invited Azerbaijani president to the
4th Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington, DC."
He added that the invitation is an appreciation of Azerbaijan's
statehood.
"This summit has become an important event, which explores the stances
taken by influential countries' leaders with regard to the nuclear
safety," said Mirzazadeh. "And the fact that Barack Obama invited
Azerbaijani president shows Azerbaijan's authority on international
arena as a state, and how the world evaluates its development, and
contributions to security."
He also believes that the invitation to the summit is another proof
of Azerbaijan's authority on the international arena as an independent
state.
aravot.am
AZERIS ARE PAID 200 DOLLARS FOR KILLING AN ARMENIAN
SOLDIER
January 11 2016
Contractual soldiers protecting the border in Tavush region told us
that the Azerbaijani soldiers receive 200 dollars bonus for killing
an Armenian border guard. And if the Armenian border guard disarms an
Azerbaijani soldier instilling instability on the border, his reward
is a "carton" of cigarettes "Garni". The Armenian border guards said
that there are a great number of aliens in the Azerbaijani frontline
positions.
armenianow.com
January 11 2016
Contractual soldiers protecting the border in Tavush region told us
that the Azerbaijani soldiers receive 200 dollars bonus for killing
an Armenian border guard. And if the Armenian border guard disarms an
Azerbaijani soldier instilling instability on the border, his reward
is a "carton" of cigarettes "Garni". The Armenian border guards said
that there are a great number of aliens in the Azerbaijani frontline
positions.
armenianow.com
2016'S FIRST BLOOD: ARMENIAN SOLDIER KILLED BY AZERI
FORCES IN KARABAKH
11.01.16
In what marked the first casualty of the year after a period of
relative New Year calm in the Karabakh conflict zone, an Armenian
soldier was reportedly killed by Azeri troops at the frontlines over
the weekend.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said 19-year-old Aramais
Voskanyan was fatally wounded on Saturday while on duty in the eastern
direction of the line of contact with Azerbaijan.
According to the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, in the period of
January 3-9, the Azerbaijani side fired more than 4,000 shots from
guns of different calibers.
"The advanced units of the Defense Army mostly refrained from
retaliatory actions and continued to confidently carry out their
combat duty," the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said.
More than four dozen Armenian servicemen were killed in 2015 around
Nagorno-Karabakh and at the restive Armenian-Azerbaijani border
as Azeri forces began using larger-caliber and heavier weapons,
including mortars and battle tanks.
At one point in December, Armenia's Defense Ministry said the
1994 ceasefire agreement was effectively in tatters, while
Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan accused
Azerbaijan of "bringing the situation closer to war".
The December 19 meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
did not bring immediate calm to the conflict zone, but tensions
eventually subsided towards the New Year as Azerbaijan was also hit by
a severe currency market crisis amid falling international oil prices.
International mediators from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe hope Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his
Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev can hold another meeting in 2016
to discuss ways to settle the protracted dispute.
lragir.am
FINAL STAGE OF BUILDING NEW WORLD ORDER: WHERE DOES
11.01.16
In what marked the first casualty of the year after a period of
relative New Year calm in the Karabakh conflict zone, an Armenian
soldier was reportedly killed by Azeri troops at the frontlines over
the weekend.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said 19-year-old Aramais
Voskanyan was fatally wounded on Saturday while on duty in the eastern
direction of the line of contact with Azerbaijan.
According to the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, in the period of
January 3-9, the Azerbaijani side fired more than 4,000 shots from
guns of different calibers.
"The advanced units of the Defense Army mostly refrained from
retaliatory actions and continued to confidently carry out their
combat duty," the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said.
More than four dozen Armenian servicemen were killed in 2015 around
Nagorno-Karabakh and at the restive Armenian-Azerbaijani border
as Azeri forces began using larger-caliber and heavier weapons,
including mortars and battle tanks.
At one point in December, Armenia's Defense Ministry said the
1994 ceasefire agreement was effectively in tatters, while
Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan accused
Azerbaijan of "bringing the situation closer to war".
The December 19 meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
did not bring immediate calm to the conflict zone, but tensions
eventually subsided towards the New Year as Azerbaijan was also hit by
a severe currency market crisis amid falling international oil prices.
International mediators from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe hope Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his
Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev can hold another meeting in 2016
to discuss ways to settle the protracted dispute.
lragir.am
FINAL STAGE OF BUILDING NEW WORLD ORDER: WHERE DOES
ARMENIA STAND?
Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator
08 January 2016, 12:21
A gallon of Brent costs 33 dollars, stocks dropped in China, the
Russian ruble is falling, and in Azerbaijan one has to show an ID to
buy dollars.
At the same time, the conflict between the Shiites and Sunnis is
gathering momentum in the Near East and the geopolitical role of the
Near East countries as global suppliers of carbohydrates is decreasing.
The economist Ashot Yeghiazaryan says a new world order is forming,
headed by the United States. There are a lot of forces in the world
which are resisting but there are many more which are trying to seek
a place in the future world order which will be established one way
or another.
This world order will not be based on oil and gas but on totally
different achievements in technology, namely the information and
communication technology, their use in other spheres of life, as well
as new sources of power.
The dropping price of oil, as many experts claim, symbolizes the end
of the oil era and the beginning of the energy revolution. Car giants
are expanding hybrid and electric car production. Every now and then
alternative sources of energy are discovered. Denmark intends to end
the use of oil and gas altogether in a few years.
The world is changing fast, and geopolitical transformation is
inevitable. So far those who controlled production and transportation
of carbohydrates and possessed massive destruction weapons ruled
the world. Now the situation is changing. Power belongs to those who
control the worldwide web, new energy technologies, and can defend
themselves from massive destruction weapons with global missile
defense systems.
This is taken into account when they say a new world order is being
established headed by the United States. In the recent years the
United States has been able to set up monopolistic control over the
core financial, technological, defense spheres.
Now it is time for the next step - set up an order in the world which
will match the interests of the United States and its allies. This
is happening in the Near East where the world order established 100
years ago is ending.
The South Caucasus cannot stay aloof. Ashot Yeghiazaryan says a
"development area" and a "peripheral area" is forming in the world
which will determine the place of states and peoples in the future.
Armenia is invited persistently to the "development area" but the
Armenian "elite" is clinging to the old world order.
In his New Year message Vladimir Putin listed the celebration of the
70th anniversary in World War II as an achievement of 2015. This is
the only thing that Russia can offer to its "allies" as a reason for
maintaining the old world order.
For Armenia, 2015 was the last one of the century following the
genocide. 100 years have passed, and it is time to follow the new
world order.
a1plus.am
Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator
08 January 2016, 12:21
A gallon of Brent costs 33 dollars, stocks dropped in China, the
Russian ruble is falling, and in Azerbaijan one has to show an ID to
buy dollars.
At the same time, the conflict between the Shiites and Sunnis is
gathering momentum in the Near East and the geopolitical role of the
Near East countries as global suppliers of carbohydrates is decreasing.
The economist Ashot Yeghiazaryan says a new world order is forming,
headed by the United States. There are a lot of forces in the world
which are resisting but there are many more which are trying to seek
a place in the future world order which will be established one way
or another.
This world order will not be based on oil and gas but on totally
different achievements in technology, namely the information and
communication technology, their use in other spheres of life, as well
as new sources of power.
The dropping price of oil, as many experts claim, symbolizes the end
of the oil era and the beginning of the energy revolution. Car giants
are expanding hybrid and electric car production. Every now and then
alternative sources of energy are discovered. Denmark intends to end
the use of oil and gas altogether in a few years.
The world is changing fast, and geopolitical transformation is
inevitable. So far those who controlled production and transportation
of carbohydrates and possessed massive destruction weapons ruled
the world. Now the situation is changing. Power belongs to those who
control the worldwide web, new energy technologies, and can defend
themselves from massive destruction weapons with global missile
defense systems.
This is taken into account when they say a new world order is being
established headed by the United States. In the recent years the
United States has been able to set up monopolistic control over the
core financial, technological, defense spheres.
Now it is time for the next step - set up an order in the world which
will match the interests of the United States and its allies. This
is happening in the Near East where the world order established 100
years ago is ending.
The South Caucasus cannot stay aloof. Ashot Yeghiazaryan says a
"development area" and a "peripheral area" is forming in the world
which will determine the place of states and peoples in the future.
Armenia is invited persistently to the "development area" but the
Armenian "elite" is clinging to the old world order.
In his New Year message Vladimir Putin listed the celebration of the
70th anniversary in World War II as an achievement of 2015. This is
the only thing that Russia can offer to its "allies" as a reason for
maintaining the old world order.
For Armenia, 2015 was the last one of the century following the
genocide. 100 years have passed, and it is time to follow the new
world order.
a1plus.am
TWO ANTI-ARMENIAN RESOLUTIONS WILL BE DEBATED BY
PACE IN JANUARY
January 8,2016
The Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) is seriously preparing for the PACE winter session
to be held in Strasbourg from January 25 to 29.
On January 26, the Assembly will hear two anti-Armenian reports.
"PACE is such a platform where blows and counterblows are of permanent
nature," says Hermine Naghdalyan, Vice-Speaker of the Armenian
National Assembly.
Naira Zohrabyan, Head of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK)
parliamentary group, says it is important that the Armenian delegation
members work with those PACE delegates 'who have not been bribed yet.'
The reports included in the agenda of the January 26 sitting are
entitled "Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other
occupied territories of Azerbaijan" and on "Inhabitants of frontier
regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water". The first
report, drafted by Robert Walter (United Kingdom, EC), calls for
"the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces and other irregular armed
forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of
Azerbaijan, and the establishment of full sovereignty of Azerbaijan in
these territories." The second report is prepared by Milica Markovic
(Bosnia and Herzegovina, SOC). It says the lack of regular maintenance
work for over 20 years on the Sarsang reservoir, located in one of
the areas of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia, "poses a danger to the
whole border region".
Hermine Naghdalyan says the Azerbaijani delegation particularly
activated in the last year after sanctions were imposed on Russia
after it annexed Crimea.
"In this period, Azerbaijanis tried to draft a number of anti-Armenian
documents and reports," she said.
Hermine Naghdalyan says that PACE adopts anti-Armenian resolutions
and reports every ten years. In 2005, the structure passed 14.16
anti-Armenian resolution. "We do not welcome the fact that PACE has
lowered its bar and adopts worthless 'piles of papers' as Aliyev
likes to call them. Of course, some of these papers are of political
importance, and when their dossier is enriched they harden Azerbaijan's
position in the negotiating process."
Do our diplomats support the Armenian delegation?
Naira Zohrabyan says, "Parliamentary activities have one delicacy:
when our ambassadors meet with the delegates of the country where they
serve, the gesture is not well accepted. They view it as pressure on
them by their government. It is much more effective when our delegates
speak and work with them."
The Armenian delegates promise to do their utmost to make PACE
delegates vote against the anti-Armenian resolutions at the January
26 sitting.
January 8,2016
The Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) is seriously preparing for the PACE winter session
to be held in Strasbourg from January 25 to 29.
On January 26, the Assembly will hear two anti-Armenian reports.
"PACE is such a platform where blows and counterblows are of permanent
nature," says Hermine Naghdalyan, Vice-Speaker of the Armenian
National Assembly.
Naira Zohrabyan, Head of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK)
parliamentary group, says it is important that the Armenian delegation
members work with those PACE delegates 'who have not been bribed yet.'
The reports included in the agenda of the January 26 sitting are
entitled "Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other
occupied territories of Azerbaijan" and on "Inhabitants of frontier
regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water". The first
report, drafted by Robert Walter (United Kingdom, EC), calls for
"the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces and other irregular armed
forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of
Azerbaijan, and the establishment of full sovereignty of Azerbaijan in
these territories." The second report is prepared by Milica Markovic
(Bosnia and Herzegovina, SOC). It says the lack of regular maintenance
work for over 20 years on the Sarsang reservoir, located in one of
the areas of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia, "poses a danger to the
whole border region".
Hermine Naghdalyan says the Azerbaijani delegation particularly
activated in the last year after sanctions were imposed on Russia
after it annexed Crimea.
"In this period, Azerbaijanis tried to draft a number of anti-Armenian
documents and reports," she said.
Hermine Naghdalyan says that PACE adopts anti-Armenian resolutions
and reports every ten years. In 2005, the structure passed 14.16
anti-Armenian resolution. "We do not welcome the fact that PACE has
lowered its bar and adopts worthless 'piles of papers' as Aliyev
likes to call them. Of course, some of these papers are of political
importance, and when their dossier is enriched they harden Azerbaijan's
position in the negotiating process."
Do our diplomats support the Armenian delegation?
Naira Zohrabyan says, "Parliamentary activities have one delicacy:
when our ambassadors meet with the delegates of the country where they
serve, the gesture is not well accepted. They view it as pressure on
them by their government. It is much more effective when our delegates
speak and work with them."
The Armenian delegates promise to do their utmost to make PACE
delegates vote against the anti-Armenian resolutions at the January
26 sitting.
lragir.am
WHY IS RUSSIA BRINGING FIGHTER AIRCRAFT TO ARMENIA?
Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator
08 January 2016
Transformation of Armenia to a Russian base is close to its end
The Russian media, referring to the press service of the Southern
Military District, informed that the Russian Airbase of Erebuni will
get a batch of MiG-29 jet fighter aircraft.
The sources note that most of these warplanes are worn and torn and
are under repair now. Some jets can carry nuclear weapons, while the
others, especially the ones produced for export, have no functions
at all. The message does not state that the planes will be brought
to Armenia. It only states that they will be used in defending the
borders of CIS.
On December 31 Vladimir Putin signed the updated strategy of the
Russian national security. According to it, Russia intends to take
its place in the world which will have multiple centers. In other
words, Russia admits that the world has one pole and Russia is not
that single pole.
At the same time, Moscow considers NATO expansion towards the east
and the attempts of "certain countries" to hinder integration in the
Eurasian space as a threat. In other words, Moscow announces that it
wants to become a pole and integrate its "own" region.
In fact, the warplanes brought to the Russian base in Armenia will
confront "attempts to hinder Eurasian integration" and help Russia
strengthen its foothold in the region. These planes will hinder the
appearance of other guarantees of security in Armenia offered by the
main "pole", i.e. the United States and NATO.
The question is how long the "main pole" will continue to offer. Last
July the Armenian deputy minister of defense Davit Tonoyan left for
the United States where he met with high-ranking officials of the
State Department and Pentagon. They spoke about some new programs of
defense cooperation.
While Tonoyan was visiting Washington, the head of the Russian General
Intelligence Department Igor Sergun visited Yerevan unexpectedly. The
U.S.-Armenia cooperation in the defense sphere has not been considered
since his visit and Tonoyan's return.
Two days later Sergun died but Russia hardly intends to change its
policy on Armenia. It is sending planes which will defend the borders
of CIS which includes Azerbaijan too, not the borders of Armenia.
Armenia will eventually become a Russian base, and the Armenian
leadership is not even asked what weapons are brought to Armenia, and
how this can affect the country's defense capability. They are asking
Georgia and Iran
