SARGSYAN WINS PUTIN’S SEAL OF APPROVAL
By Anna Smolchenko

The Moscow Times
March 25 2008
Russia

President Vladimir Putin and Serzh Sargsyan on Monday pledged
continuity in bilateral relations, as the Armenian president-elect
made Moscow his first destination after being declared the winner in
a controversial election last month.

"I know that political processes in Armenia are not developing easily,
but we very much hope that everything we have built up in bilateral
relations in recent years will remain and develop further in the
future, regardless of events inside Armenia," Putin said at the start
of the talks in the Kremlin.

Sargsyan was elected in a Feb. 19 vote that the opposition says
was rigged. The growing protests that followed were then violently
dispersed by police and a 20-day state of emergency was imposed.

The state of emergency ended last week.

Sargsyan thanked Putin for Russia’s support, including its backing
in the run-up to the Armenian vote.

"Both [Armenian President Robert Kocharyan] and our ambassador passed
your personal messages on to me, and I will be honest: Never before
have we witnessed such an unambiguous approach," he said.

Sargsyan’s trip comes on the heels of a visit by Kocharyan, who came
to Moscow for an informal Commonwealth of Independent States summit
on Feb. 22.

Putin congratulated Sargsyan, currently prime minister, on his
victory, while Sargsyan said the election of First Deputy Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev as Putin’s replacement in March instilled
hope that the bilateral relations would continue to develop positively.

Sargsyan met Medvedev earlier on Monday. Sargsyan is to be inaugurated
on April 9, while the ceremony for Medvedev will take place on May 7.

The talks between Putin and Sargsyan were to focus on expanding
trade and economic relations, including nuclear cooperation, the
Kremlin said in a statement on Monday. Armenia has been invited to
join Russia’s international uranium enrichment center in Angarsk and
is expected to finalize its commitment in the near future.

Azhdar Kurtov, an analyst with the Russian Institute of Strategic
Studies, said continuity in relations with Yerevan was important
for Moscow, as Armenia remains virtually its only ally in the South
Caucasus.

"Armenia has been successful so far in keeping the Caucasus from
drifting toward the West or, rather, the south," said Kurtov, who
focuses on the CIS.

Landlocked Armenia borders Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey,
in a region that is becoming a key transit route for oil exports to
European and world markets. Georgia and Azerbaijan have both said
they are interested in NATO membership.

The difference between Moscow’s relations with Armenia and its
relationship with Georgia was evident, Kurtov said, from the Russian
media coverage of postelection riots in Yerevan and of the earlier
riots in Tbilisi. The disturbances and the police reaction in Armenia
have received much less coverage than did the events in Georgia,
he said.

Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base, is part of the
Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, a regional body
aimed at strengthening military and political ties. Armenia will take
over the chairmanship of the organization this fall.

Russian investment in Armenia totaled about $1 billion at the end of
2007, a year that saw trade between the countries top $800 million,
the Kremlin said, adding that a figure of $1 billion was a realistic
forecast for the near future.

In a standard indication of good relations between the countries, the
Kremlin said Armenia would host a series of Russian cultural events
this year, while Russia would host a "Season of Armenian Culture"
in 2009.

Despite the pledges of continued friendship, however, Gazprom is soon
likely to significantly hike the prices that Armenia pays it for gas,
analysts have said. Armenia currently pays a mere $110 per thousand
cubic meters.