visitor-again wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:00 pmThe current Armenian government is pretty solid pro-Russian and came to power with the tacit consent of the Russians. Meaning, Putin had learned a lesson from Ukraine and let the mafia go.
Some of the Armenian oligarchs had/have Russian passports and fled to Moscow which wont extradite them. At the same time Armenia serves as a conduit for Russian money hit by sanctions. So the dual-citizens arrange a detour for their funds through Yerevan.
Armenia had just bought modern jets from Russia, a small plant to assemble AK-47s, and practically all Armenian military hardware is Russian. The Armenians wont put their security at the mercy of the West.
Who's winning. It is complicated. Armenian reports successes like taking hillsides, destroying Azeri hardware. Problem is - how did the Azeris get to those places? That was left unreported.
The Armenians are certainly winning the PR war. The deployment of ISIS butchers against a Christian population is something else than doing it in Libya. It also nothing the Iranians will stomach after what these killers did in Iraq.
It also does not help the Azeri when they bomb churches and hit international news teams that are on the site.
I m very interested to see what the European governments, not the EU, will do. Erdogan has crossed several red lines and there will be a price to be paid by Turkey.
Here's the one article I read: https://www.rferl.org/a/as-karabakh-war ... 81015.html
Also, the new Armenian leader does not sound t all like Moscow's man, but more of a pragmatist:
"Pashinyan has been described by political commentator Grigor Atanesian as a "Moscow-skeptic democrat," who has "championed an Armenia-centric approach, arguing that there’s no place for pro-Russian or pro-Western political forces in the country."[254] In 2014 Pashinyan's Civil Contract party declared that they advocate the "no-no" policy regarding full integration into either Russia-led union or integration into the EU.[255] In an April 2018 interview he stated, "Many now present me in the Western media as a pro-Western politician. I have stated many times that I am not pro-West, not pro-Russia, not pro-US—I am a pro-Armenian politician."[251] During the 2018 protests, Pashinyan was cautious to frame it as the "first mass movement in the post-Soviet space in the last 20 years that is not associated with any foreign power."[254]
Thomas de Waal wrote that Pashinyan is "not exactly anti-Russian—or, rather, is so only by implication as he talks about European values and democracy."[256] Political analyst Mikayel Zolyan suggested that Pashinyan's criticism of Armenia's relations with Russia from the opposition was "not so much from a pro-Western point of view, but as a state-minded person whose priority is not geopolitical orientation but Armenia’s sovereignty."[234] Political scientist Simon Saradzhyan noted that no matter his personal views, Pashinyan realizes that Armenia has "no viable alternative but Russia as its guarantor of security, while it faces two hostile bordering states, Azerbaijan and Turkey."[257]
Relations with Russia
See also: Armenia–Russia relations
In 2013 he voted against Armenia's membership to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, claiming it threatened Armenia's national security and sovereignty.[254] Pashinyan argued that Armenia's membership to the union could hurt Armenia's relations with its neighbors, including Iran.[258] RFE/RL noted in 2016 that Pashinyan's Civil Contract party "advocates a more neutral Armenian foreign policy" than Bright Armenia (led by MP Edmon Marukyan), and Republic (led by former PM Aram Sargsyan)—the two other members of the Way Out alliance—who have a pro-Western orientation.[259] In August 2017 RFE/RL noted that Pashinyan "repeatedly objected last year to some pro-Western politicians’ calls for Yerevan to leave Russian-dominated trade bloc."[260] Nonetheless, the Way Out Alliance parliamentary faction approved a draft statement by the parliament demanding the government to start a process of invalidating Armenia's accession treaty with the EEU.[261]
In 2016 he criticized and voted against the Armenian-Russian agreement on creation of the Unified Regional Air Defence System in the Caucasus by arguing that Armenia should "develop a system of air defence of sovereign Armenia. Why should we transfer our own air defence system under the command of Russia?"[262] He stated that Russia "cannot be considered a real guarantor of Armenia´s security. This kind of agreement with Russia creates only the illusion of a strengthening of security."[263] In April 2018 he stated that he will not pull out of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and that he has "no problems with the Russian bases" in Armenia by citing Armenia's bad relations with Turkey.[251] The Russian base in Gyumri, he said, guards the Turkish-Armenian border and Armenia needs it.[264] In December 2018 he stated that Armenia does not seek NATO membership, but will continue to preserve relations with that organization.[265]
Relations with Turkey
See also: Armenia–Turkey relations
Pashinyan's Haykakan Zhamanak supported the normalization process that then-President Serzh Sargsyan and Turkish President Abdullah Gül initiated, however, he criticized the "government's way of pursuing it."[266] As Prime Minister, Pashinyan called Turkey's positions "illogical" regarding their precondition to solve the Karabakh conflict prior to establishing diplomatic relations. Pashinyan stated that his government remains committed to the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.[267] In November 2018 Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia is ready to normalize its relations with Turkey without preconditions. He claimed that the recognition of the genocide is "not a matter of Armenian-Turkish relations", but instead is a "security issue for us and a matter of international security, and it is our contribution to the genocide prevention movement and process."[268]
In October 2019 Pashinyan condemned the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish-controlled northeastern areas of Syria, otherwise known as Rojava.[269]"