Epress.am News from Armenia
ARF (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) Dashnaktsutyun Armenian Cause Bureau Director Kiro Manoyan, at a press conference today, said that he noticed positive developments in Armenia-Russia relations.
Manoyan said that it seemed that Russia’s leadership was exhibiting uncertainty toward the policy put in place by Armenia’s new governing authorities, however, relations have developed so well that Russia is considering extending the contract for its military base near Gyumri.
“That fact, in some sense, is incomprehensible, since the grounds for this still haven’t been made public,” said the ARF member. According to him, it’s necessary to understand on what grounds a new contract is being considered because if there aren’t sufficient grounds, extending the contract can become a reason for concern.
Manoyan said that Russia noticed a convenient time to get Armenia to agree to extending the contract in exchange for supplying Armenia with some of its needs. The ARF member doesn’t notice any other grounds for this decision.
Asked what needs he’s speaking about in particular, Manoyan said, “Stability in the region today assumes a certain additional preparedness, so that Azerbaijan doesn’t suddenly get confused.”
Noting that Russia attempts to maintain stability in the region, Manoyan said that if that happens only through Russia’s efforts, and “not as a result of coordinated international efforts, that can also have negative consequences.”
Manoyan explained his position by saying that when the region has been entirely under one main power, the interests of local states have been tread under foot.