ALLIES AND ALLEGIANCES: ARMENIA AGAIN VOICES DISCONTENT WITH RUSSIAN ARMS DELIVERIES TO AZERBAIJAN

ANALYSIS | 16.03.15 | 10:21

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By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

Armenia would prefer if Russia did not sell arms to Azerbaijan, the
nation’s top diplomat said in a recent interview with the Slovenian
Dnevnik newspaper.

“But we are not asking friendly countries, partner countries to do
something for Armenia against somebody else. What we are expecting
concretely on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is not to support one
side against the other, just to be in line with the position of the
international community expressed by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group. And Russia is one of the three Co-Chairs,” Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian said.

Russia, which is a strategic ally of Armenia, has sold weapons worth
billions of dollars to Azerbaijan, which has, in fact, declared war
on Armenia. And this fact in recent years has become a major stumbling
block in the relations between Yerevan and Moscow.

Foreign Minister Nalbandian, perhaps, for the first time expresses
dissatisfaction with Russia. Before him, on several occasions President
Serzh Sargsyan and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan spoke about the
matter publicly. However, Russia did not consider it necessary to
cut off supplies.

The information background of the Armenian-Russian friendship has
clearly deteriorated. While officially only cautious discontent is
heard, in parliament, in the press and in public forums there has
been a more frequent talk about the negative role of Russia in the
events after the 1915 Genocide, the Russian support for Armenia’s
enemies today, etc. The information background has been pretty
much messed up by the tragic events in Gyumri where on January 12
a soldier of the locally stationed Russian military base allegedly
killed a seven-member Armenian family in a shooting spree. And Russia
consistently does not want to transfer the accused to Armenian justice.

The negative impact on the myth of the eternal Armenian-Russian
friendship and Russia’s saving role was also made by the apparent
compulsion of Armenia to join the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The
first results of Armenia’s membership are almost disastrous for
Armenian producers and exporters, and the official statistics of
Armenia demonstratively does not hide it.

In Moscow they understand that the deterioration of the information
background may lead to a rupture of political relations. As a step to
reduce the degree of tension it was stated that on April 24 Russian
President Vladimir Putin will visit Yerevan for the commemoration
of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. However, against the
background of rumors about the disappearance of Putin and certain
political processes in Moscow this information has had no propaganda
influence on Yerevan.

Will Armenia remain an eternal and, perhaps, only ally of Russia?

Moscow is rapidly losing allies – at the end of last week, China
suddenly denounced the annexation of the Crimea by Russia and
said about strengthening of relations with the United States. Even
Belarus and Kazakhstan – Russia’s partners in the EEU – are actively
developing relations with the West. Armenian leadership remains,
perhaps, alone in the camp of allies of Russia, which, on its part,
torpedoes relations between Yerevan and its Western partners and Iran.

The words of the Armenian foreign minister, who is known for his
unconditional support of friendship with Russia, are also evidence
that Armenia’s political allegiance is not infinite.