Wednesday, Russia's Ties With Armenia `Unhurt' By Arms Sales To Azerbaijan . Astghik Bedevian Russia -- A "TOS-1 Buratino" multiple rocket launcher fires during the "Russia Arms Expo 2013" 9th international exhibition of arms, military equipment and ammunition, in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil, September 25, 2013 A senior Armenian official on Wednesday criticized continuing Russian arms sales to Azerbaijan but made clear that they will not undermine Armenia's close military ties with Russia. "Azerbaijan is not the kind of state that can be supplied with weapons because weapons ought to be sold to those countries that aim to use them for self-defense. I hope that everyone will agree with this over time," said deputy parliament speaker Eduard Sharmazanov, who is also the chief spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). "On the other hand, this must not impede the deepening of Russian-Armenian strategic military-political relations," Sharmazanov told reporters. "They must not be conditioned only by Russian-Azerbaijani relations. Russian-Armenian relations are deeper and stem from the interests of the two countries." Russia has sold around $5 billion worth of tanks, artillery systems and other weapons to Azerbaijan in line with defense contracts mostly signed in 2009-2011. The arms supplies continued even after Armenian leaders strongly criticized them following Azerbaijan's April 2016 offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, the Russians shipped six heavy artillery systems to the Azerbaijani military last year. Late last month, a Russian cargo ship delivered a new batch of anti-tank missile systems to Baku's Caspian Sea port. And earlier this week, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry announced that it has received hundreds of Russian thermobaric rockets for TOS-1A multiple-launch systems which it had purchased from Moscow earlier. Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the lucrative arms deals with Baku after holding talks with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian in Moscow last August. Putin implied that oil-rich Azerbaijan could have bought offensive weapons from other nations. He also argued that Russia has long been providing substantial military aid to Armenia. The Armenia army demonstrated new weapons recently acquired from Russia during a September 2016 military parade in Yerevan. Those included state-of-the-art Iskander ballistic missiles. Russia has been Armenia's principal supplier of weapons and ammunition owing to the military alliance between the two nations. Yerevan has received Russian weapons at discounted prices or even for free. Yerevan Hopes For Russian-Georgian Transport Deal . Sargis Harutyunyan Georgia -- A warning sign is pictured behind a wire barricade erected by Russian and South Ossetian troops along Georgia's de-facto border with its breakaway region of South Ossetia in the village of Khurvaleti, July 14, 2015 Transport Minister Vahan Martirosian expressed hope on Wednesday that Russia and Georgia will agree after all to open new transport corridors that would facilitate Armenia's foreign trade. Senior Russian and Georgian diplomats have been discussing the possibility of reviving a 2011 agreement meant to enable their countries to maintain commercial ties in the absence of diplomatic relations. They have specifically looked into modalities of reopening two highways that used to connect Georgia to Russia via the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The two sides would hire a Swiss company to operate customs checkpoints to be set up on the administrative boundaries of the two territories controversially recognized by Russia as independent states. The Moscow daily "Kommersant" reported this week that they finalized such a deal at the latest round of negotiations held in Prague. The Georgian government has not officially confirmed this yet. Commenting on the report, Martirosian said: "That depends, first and foremost, on Russian-Georgian relations. We hope that a solution will be found in the near future." The minister told reporters that the new Russian-Georgian corridors would benefit Armenia by reducing transportation costs in its trade with Russia, its number one trading partner, and other states. Most of Russian-Armenian trade is currently carried out through the sole Russian-Georgian border crossing at Upper Lars. Traffic along that mountainous road is frequently blocked by blizzards in winter months. Hence, Yerevan's strong interest in the launch of new trade routes to Russia. Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetian discussed the matter with his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Kvirikashvili when he visited Tbilisi in February. Karapetian said after their talks that "there will be an alternative to the Lars road" but did not give details. Karabakh Leader Faces Reelection Challenge From Opposition . Hovannes Movsisian Nagorno-Karabakh - The parliament building in Stepanakert, 2Sep2016. An opposition member of Nagorno-Karabakh's parliament announced on Wednesday his candidacy for the post of the unrecognized republic's next, interim president that will be elected by local lawmakers later this month. Eduard Aghabekian, a former mayor of Stepanakert, thus challenged Karabakh President Bako Sahakian's controversial plans to extend his rule by at least three years. Aghabekian accused Sahakian's administration of failing to address economic and security challenges facing the Armenian-populated territory. In line with a new constitution enacted in a referendum in February, Karabakh will switch to the presidential system of government which will lead to the abolition of the post of prime minister. The authorities in Stepanakert say the constitutional change will put Karabakh in a better position to cope with the unresolved conflict with Azerbaijan. Their opponents maintain, however, Sahakian is simply keen to stay in power after he completes his second and what was supposed to be final five-year term in September 2017. The new constitution will fully come into force after the current parliament dominated by Sahakian's supporters serves out its term in 2020.Karabakh will be governed by an interim president chosen by the parliament until then. Three pro-government parties holding the vast majority of parliament seats have already decided to back Sahakian's reelection. The largest of those parties, Free Fatherland, is led by Ara Harutiunian, the Karabakh prime minister. Another senior Free Fatherland figure, Artur Tovmasian, defended Sahakian's track record, pointing to high rates of economic growth recorded by the Karabakh authorities. He said Sahakian has pledged to ensure that the local economy expands by around 10 percent annually for the next three years. "If there are candidates who think that a growth rate of up to 50 percent is possible in Karabakh then it's absurd," Tovmasian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Aghabekian's Movement-88 party holds only three parliament seats, compared with 28 seats controlled by Free Fatherand and the two other pro-government groups: the Democratic Party of Artsakh and the Karabakh branch of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). Sahakian's challenger may also be backed by Hayk Khanumian, the holder of another opposition party's sole parliament seat. "I personally have a positive attitude towards Aghabekian but believe that he stands no chance of getting elected," Khanumian said on Wednesday. Aghabekian admitted that he is unlikely to unseat Sahakian. He said he is primarily challenging the Karabakh leader in order to draw public attention to Karabakh's lingering problems. Press Review "Aravot" claims that Azerbaijan seems to have failed to achieve "political and propaganda results" with its "provocative" actions taken on the Karabakh frontlines this month. "They have failed to prove their legend about `bloody-thirsty Armenians,'" writes the paper. One of the reasons for that, it says, is a glaring contradiction between Baku's declared commitment to peace and regular threats to win back not only Karabakh but also "historical Azerbaijani lands" in Armenia proper. The paper also points to apparent problems that have emerged in Azerbaijan's relationship with Russia. "Analysts believe the reason for their differences is competition over gas, an area where the interests of these two countries do not converge," it says. "Who will be Armenia's prime minister after 2018? This is the number one issue on the Armenian political agenda at the moment," writes "Hayots Ashkhar." The pro-presidential paper disapproves of the opposition Yelk alliance's growing efforts to bring up this matter on the parliament floor. It says that instead of discussing President Serzh Sarkisian's political future, Yelk and other opposition forces should seek to "impose their own agenda" on the country's rulers. "The country is faced with unprecedented external and internal challenges, and in this situation the opposition # is bothering with changes that will occur within the ruling elite in 2018," it says. "Haykakan Zhamanak" reacts to reports that Russia and Georgia have finalized a deal to open transport corridors through South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "This is an extremely important development for Armenia," comments the paper. "The thing is that the only road currently connecting Armenia to Russia passes through the Upper Lars [mountain pass,] which is causing our entrepreneurs considerable damage. If Russia's and Georgia's representatives indeed reached a final and irreversible agreement, then Armenia will get a very convenient, reliable and short overland link to Russia." (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org