Armenia agrees with Azeri President over “forepost” notion
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 20 2004
Armenia agrees with President Ilham Aliyev’s recent statement that
this country is a “forepost” for Russia, Armenia’s Panarmenia news
agency reported on Friday.
The report termed the utterances by the Speaker of Russian State Duma,
Boris Gryzlov, who paid an official visit to Yerevan on Thursday,
on Armenia as a questionable benefit upon this country. The report
also said that it is surprising that not Armenian politicians but the
Azerbaijani President first voiced his position on Gryzlov’s statement.
The publication said that “Russia needs Armenia more than Armenia
needs Russia” and that the Russian speaker has only made the matters
worse with his utterance.
President Ilham Aliyev stated on Friday that Russia is an obstacle
for settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict.
Aliyev stressed that it is yet to be determined whether Azerbaijan
should negotiate with Armenia, which is a forepost country, or with
its “owner”.
“If the issue is clarified in Armenia, then favorable conditions will
be created for holding talks,” Aliyev said.
The fact that Armenia has not changed its policy of aggression yet
is related to the existence of this country’s giant patron in the
region. Although Russia’s attitude towards Armenia, which it calls a
“forepost” in South Caucasus, was hidden under the cover of foreign
policy, finally, the former’s “paternal care” was indicated by the
Russian parliament speaker.