ARMENIA SAYS NOT AIMING FOR NATO, EU MEMBERSHIP

A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL, 7/16/07
EurasiaNet, NY
July 16 2007

Armenian President Robert Kocharian says his country has no intention
of joining NATO.

In remarks published on July 15 by the German magazine "Der Spiegel,"
Kocharian said NATO membership would harm Armenia’s relations with
neighboring countries and would do little to improve its national
security.

Kocharian said Armenia is currently not aiming for EU membership
either. "We are realistic," he said.

Although Kocharian’s remarks do not represent a shift in Armenia’s
foreign policy, they are more blunt than previous declarations.

Analysts in Armenia believe the president, whose term of office ends
next year, has decided to stress relations with Russia as Armenia’s
highest foreign-policy priority.

At the same time, Armenia is concerned about maintaining relations
with Iran, a major strategic and trading partner.

Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who seems poised to succeed Kocharian
as president, told Reuters recently that NATO membership would not
guarantee Armenia’s security. He noted that NATO member Turkey has
been keeping Armenia’s border closed for years and added that Turkey
is not a "predictable" factor, noting that Turkey was a NATO member
when the Cyprus conflict erupted in 1974.

Public opinion in Armenia remains divided on the issue of
NATO membership. A recent poll organized by the U.S. Agency for
International Development and the International Republican Institute
found that 40 percent of Armenians think the country "definitely"
or "probably" should join the alliance, while 45 percent said it
"definitely" or "probably" should not. The same poll found that 80
percent of Armenians favor EU membership.