RUSSIA DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM SOUTH CAUCASUS
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.12.2006 16:09 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The year of 2006 became a jump in Russia’s distancing
from the South Caucasus. One of the causes of this distance is Russian
‘gas’ policy towards the CIS countries, said political scientist
Alexander Iskandaryan, the Director of Caucasian Media Institute to
a news conference in Yerevan. "The other heavy factor of Russia’s
distancing from the region is the aggravation of Russian-Georgian
relations. In both cases Russia’s attitude towards the South Caucasus
lead the Armenian community to great changes in the sphere of social
discourse, greatly changed Armenian’s attitude towards Russia," he
stressed. In his words, it’s true that Russia has been and remains the
heaviest and most essential military-political partner of Armenia. "But
in other sphere of republic’s relations with other states, say in
trade-economic sphere, Europe has paramount importance for Armenia.
Here there are several causes: the consistently developing Armenia-NATO
Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), EU-Armenia Action Plan in
the framework of European Neighborhood Policy, new developments in
Turkey-EU relations," thinks the Armenian political scientist.
Alongside, he underlined that Armenia’s policy in Russian-Georgian
opposition proceeds from rationality.
"Armenia cannot allow luxury to spoil Armenian-Georgian relations in
favor of Russia. This is being done and it is right. In his turn Moscow
demand from the Armenian authorities to behave other way. Moreover,
Armenia begins to come out of such primitive notions as ‘everlasting
allies and enemies’ and refers to the role of "Russia’s outpost"
by other way, which she is being strongly imposed and which is far
away from the reality," Iskandaryan stressed.
In regard of increasing xenophobia towards Caucasian migrants, the
Armenian political scientist thinks that just it has being written
much about. "Murders and persecutions of Armenians in Russia existed
always, just currently the Armenian press has begun to notice it. In
1994-95 there were pogroms and expulsions in Krasnodar Territory but
nobody used to write about it.
So the matter is in activation of the press. And then, this is Russia’s
and other multi-national states’ problem," Iskandaryan said.