Expert says CSTO CRRF drills special message to Azerbaijan, GeorgiaSeptember 18, 2012 - 14:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - With hosting CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) exercise, Armenia, as a military leader in the region, may send a special message to Azerbaijan, according to Regional Studies Center (RSC) head, political expert Richard Giragosian. “The drills reaffirm Armenia’s role as Russia’s most important and most reliable partner in the region. They imply that Armenia is likely to become an equal partner for Russia in the near future,” the expert said. Dwelling on Georgia’s reaction to the maneuvers, Mr. Giragosian noted the country’s concerns over the issue understandable, given Russia’s intention to intimidate Tbilisi. “In this case, Armenia must act as a balancing party between Russia and Georgia,” the expert said. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. Prosecutors to appeal Armenia ex-President’s acquittal Sargsyan was acquitted on Friday, May 31 more than four years after going on trial on corruption charges. |