RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN ARMENIA NOT TARGETING THIRD COUNTRIES: OFFICIAL

Xinhua General News Service, China
April 11, 2007 Wednesday 11:30 AM EST

Russia’s Gyumri military base in Armenia is not designed to threaten
any third country, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov
told reporters in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Wednesday.

"The base… is not aggressive in its nature and does not target third
countries," Ivanov said, stressing that the base allows security
problems within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
framework to be effectively resolved.

"The presence of a base here is an element of strategic partnership,
which also includes economy, culture, and the Russian language — there
are a lot of components making up the idea of strategic partnership,"
he said.

"I believe Armenia is our strategic partner. This is not measured only
by a military factor, but also by hundreds and thousands of years of
ties and our common history and culture," he said.

Russia’s Gyumri military base in Armenia is now better equipped after
Russia transported part of its military equipment in Georgia to Gyumri.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress