ACNIS DIRECTOR RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN COMMENTS ON US PRESIDENT OBAMA’S MOSCOW SUMMIT

armradio.am
07.07.2009 19:02

Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) Director
Richard Giragosian issued a statement today commenting on US President
Barack Obama’s two-day summit meeting with Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow:

"US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
concluded an important new arms control agreement that will reduce
the two countries’ nuclear arsenals by as much as one-third,
as part of an update to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction treaty
(START). In addition, the two leaders also signed agreements on
resuming military-to-military cooperation, restoring efforts to combat
nuclear proliferation and regarding Russian permission for US military
forces to transit Russian territory and airspace to conduct operations
in Afghanistan.

Although the Moscow summit resulted in an important new improvement in
US-Russian relations, the two leaders need to be reminded of several
further imperatives. More specifically, the US and Russian leaders need
to devote greater attention to the need for cooperation in forging
security and stability in the South Caucasus. Within this context,
there are five essential points for their consideration:

1. Arms Control for the South Caucasus: There has been a dangerous
"arms race" underway in th e South Caucasus for the past several years,
as Azerbaijan has steadily increased defense spending. Most notably,
Azerbaijan has increased its defense budget from $175 million in 2004
to almost $2.5 billion for 2009.

Even more troubling is the aggressive and militant rhetoric by
Azerbaijani officials, threatening to launch a new war against Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh. In order to counter this Azerbaijani threat
to regional security and stability, there is a need for a new "arms
control" agreement for the South Caucasus, with the US and Russia
cooperating to prevent and persuade Azerbaijan from acting on its
threats of war;

2. Russia Needs to Recognize Armenia’s Strategic Value: Russia needs to
recognize the fact that Armenia is the only reliable ally for Moscow
in the region and needs to treat Armenia with respect. Moreover,
Russian policy toward Armenia should no longer treat Armenia as a
"vassal" state, rather than as a strategic ally, and it must not
prevent Armenia from exercising its own sovereignty and independence,
including deepening ties with the European Union (EU) and NATO,
if it so desires;

3. There Are No Shortcuts to Democracy: Both the United States and
Russia seek stability in the South Caucasus. But neither country
has demanded enough from the Armenian authorities. Both Moscow and
Washington need to send a strong message to Yerevan calling on the
Armenian government to since rely and seriously resolve the country’s
ongoing political crisis by inviting a new international inquiry into
the tragic events of March 2008, which left at least ten people dead
and wounded many more, and take steps to overcome the polarization
of Armenian society. The Armenian authorities must also be reminded
that they must now learn to govern – and not just rule — the country
and must be called upon to satisfy mounting demands for change and
expectations of reform;

4. The Need for a New Approach Toward Nagorno Karabakh: If the US and
Russia sincerely seek to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, they
must adopt a new approach that includes recognizing Nagorno Karabakh as
an equal party to the conflict and engaging the democratically-elected
leaders of Karabakh as full participants in the peace talks. Only
with the participation of Nagorno Karabakh can the US and Russia hope
to achieve any meaningful progress in mediating the last "frozen"
conflict in the region;

5. Time to Pressure Turkey: Although there is a real opportunity for a
significant improvement in Turkish-Armenian relations, both Washington
and Moscow should recognize that the burden for such a breakthrough
now rests solely with Turkey and reaffirm the reality that the issue
has no direct link to the Karabakh conflict. It is also clear that
Turkey needs to take the next step by opening its closed border with
Armenia and establishing diplomatic relations and must, like Armenia,
impose no preconditions for such a move. Lastly, the US and Russia
must not mistakenly praise Turkey for opening the border and extending
diplomatic relations with Armenia; such a move is not a concession
to Armenia but is merely the basic behavior of civilized countries
and the minimum expectation of normal relations between neighbors."