Pravda, Russia
March 25 2005

Russia’s Putin reaffirms ties with Armenia, reportedly seeking to
open new military bases in ally nation

14:37 2005-03-25
Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Moscow’s close
ties with key regional ally Armenia in talks Friday with his Armenian
counterpart, Robert Kocharian.

Putin said he hoped his two-day visit to Yerevan would lay the
groundwork for further strengthening the two nations’ relations.

“We have a good basis for economic cooperation and the development of
relations in the political sphere,” the Russian leader said in
televised remarks.

“The ties between our two countries and peoples have long been very
stable,” Putin said.

Armenia, an impoverished, landlocked Caucasus state, is one of
Moscow’s closest allies on its southern flank, and Russian maintains
a military base there.

The alliance with Armenia _ one of the six countries in an ex-Soviet
military pact led by Moscow _ has taken on added importance since
neighboring Georgia began leaning toward the West after the 2003
“Rose Revolution” brought liberal reformers to power.

In an article headlined “Putin tries to hang onto last ally,” the
Russian daily Kommersant reported that the Russian leader was seeking
agreement to open new military bases in Armenia because of the forced
withdrawal of Russian bases in Georgia.

Putin’s visit came a day after massive opposition protests in the
Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan, where protesters ousted
long-serving ruler Askar Akayev in the third popular revolution in an
ex-Soviet republic within the last year and a half.