Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 17, 2006 Friday

GYUMRUI: WE CAME TO STAY

Source: Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kurier, No 10, March 15 – 21, 2006, p. 4
Translated by A. Ignatkin

Arms and military hardware withdrawn from Georgia will go to the
102nd Military Base

by Oleeg Falichev

THE RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN MILITARY COOPERATION IS FRUITFUL; An update on
Armenia, Russia’s strategic partner beyond the Caucasus Range.

There is a country beyond the Caucasus Range that unlike Georgia is a
bona fide strategic partner of Russia. This is Armenia. Russia and
Armenia signed Treaty on friendship, cooperation, and mutual
assistance (August 29, 1997). Both countries are signatories of the
Collective Security Treaty. The 102nd Russian Military Base is
quartered in Armenia and the border with Turkey and Iran is manned by
Russian border guards. President Vladimir Putin and Robert Kocharjan
proclaimed 2006, the Year of Armenia in Russia.

Armenian historians and politicians are out to have the international
community and first and foremost Turkey recognize genocide of the
Armenians in 1915.

Turkey convened several international conferences on genocide of the
Armenians in the Osmanian Empire not long ago. It indicates
recognition in Turkey of the fact that the process acknowledgement of
the genocide even by the countries like Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia
that do not boast of large Armenian diasporas cannot be stopped
anymore. Moreover, normal relations with all neighbors is one of the
requirements for membership in the European Union Ankara has coveted.
All the same, Turkey’s stand on the matter remains unchanged. It does
not even intend to open the border with Armenia, a fact that cannot
help affecting the situation in the region.

The situation on the border with Iran is much better. On the other
hand, the international situation Iran is in nowadays may
automatically generate problems for Armenia should the United States
decide to strike at Iran. It is therefore necessary to understand
Armenia’s interests. It does not appear however, that the Armenian
leadership is giving any thought to the matter even though a great
deal will depend on Armenia’s position in escalation of the
American-Iranian conflict. After all, Armenia is the territory that
may be used for the strike at Iran. No wonder the Americans are
discussing the use of the territory of Azerbaijan with official Baku.
As a matter of fact, neither is it possible nowadays to predict all
consequences of appearance of peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict area. In short, there are lots of reasons that might turn
Armenia into an arena of regional wars – not to mention possibility
of a war in Nagorno-Karabakh itself where battalions stand poised and
ready…

Tension is rapidly mounting in yet another area close to Armenia. The
matter concerns Djavakhetia in Georgia, a region with an ethnic
Armenian population, Russian troops are leaving nowadays. The
Armenian are forced to leave too. There will be no jobs to be found
in Akhalkalaki once the Russians are gone. Ashot Melkonjan, Director
of the Institute of History, is convinced that the security concept
of the Republic of Armenia must account for the problem of
Djavakhetia too.

The Armenian population of Samtskhe-Djavakhetia regularly brought up
the matter of the status of autonomy after 1992, and inevitably
encountered all sorts of difficulties and obstacles. As for the
Russian base in Akhalkalaki (a district center in Djavakhetia) it is
about to be withdrawn. NATO troops will probably move in once the
Russian military is gone and they may include a Turkish contingent.

Deputy Premier and Defense Minister, Sergei Ivanov, visited Yerevan
in early 2006. Russian contracts for enterprises in Armenia turned
over to Russia for debts were discussed.

Ivanov visited the 102nd Military Base as well and said that
everything possible was done to improve combat readiness of the
Russian-Armenian army group within the framework of the bilateral
military cooperation. “Military-technical cooperation is successful
as well,” Ivanov said.

Armenian officers and trainees are being trained in Russian military
academies and colleges free of charge as of January 1, 2005. They
number almost 500 men nowadays. Now that Russia is withdrawing
military hardware from Georgia, it is common knowledge that some of
them will be moved to the 102nd Military Base. It does not mean that
all of that will remain in Armenia for good. The assumption that
Russia is arming its ally is incorrect. After all, blockade of
railroads has a disruptive effect on supplies to the Russian base in
Armenia and therefore on combat training. Munitions are at high
premium, saved whenever possible even in the course of live fire
practice.

The 1997 Treaty, between Russia and Armenia was followed by 45
military treaties between our countries (15 international, 20
treaties between governments and 10 between ministries and
departments). Six documents were ratified: Treaty on friendship,
cooperation, and mutual assistance; Treaty on the Russian military
base in Armenia; Agreement of the use of arms by servicemen of the
Russian base beyond its territory; Agreement on joint planning of
forces (means) in the interests of collective security; Agreement on
legal aspects of existence of the Russian military base and on mutual
legal assistance; Protocol No 4 on amendment to the Treaty on the
Russian military base in Armenia.

Negotiations between military delegations and meetings of defense
ministers are planned and regular. Chief of the General Staff,
General of the Army Yuri Baluyevsky, visited Armenia in 2005. Major
General S. Bainetov, Chief of the Flights Security Service of the
Russian Air Force, and Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant
General A. Mirzabekjan met in Yerevan and signed an accord on
security of flights. Armenia is the only country in the Caucasus that
possesses sophisticated S-300s.

An important meeting of the Russian-Armenian working group took place
in Yerevan in August 2005, when financial aspects of the Russian
military presence in the Republic of Armenia were discussed and
decided on. It is common knowledge that Russian servicemen do not pay
for communal services and for the land they are using as shooting
ranges and testing sites. No other Russian military base abroad
enjoys this treatment.

Meeting of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers took place in Moscow
on November 30, 2005. Defense ministers of Russia and Armenia signed
a protocol between the governments of our countries on amendments of
the Accord on sites of the Russian military base in Armenia and
procedures of allocation of land plots. Working meetings of groups
for military and military-technical cooperation took place in Moscow
and Yerevan. Experts of foreign ministries of Russia and Armenia met
to discuss foreign political plans.

Joint actions should be commented on as well. The matter concerns
regular exercises for the command of the United Army Group, joint
exercises (on maps) with the United Command of the United Army Group,
conferences with senior officers of the Armed Forces of Armenia,
joint field exercises…

Generally speaking. The Russian-Armenian military cooperation is
fruitful. It will continue and advance. All of that proves that
Armenia had been and remains Russia’s outpost in the Caucasus.