Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pushed to strengthen longstanding ties with Armenia on a visit Tuesday, amid shifting political currents in the turbulent Caucasus after August's war in Georgia.
Ahead of talks with Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian, Medvedev presided at the renaming of a central Yerevan square as Russia Square, saying: "We want the Armenian people to live in a strong, flourishing and stable state.
"I am sure the Armenian people also wish us peace, power and well-being."
A Kremlin official said talks between the two leaders would examine "the situation in the Caucasus that has resulted from the Georgian regime's aggression against South Ossetia" -- the separatist zone at the centre of the Georgia-Russia war in August. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leaders were also to discuss the simmering conflict over Nagorny Karabakh, a territory inside Azerbaijan that Armenia took control of in a war in the 1990s.
Russia's Izvestia daily said that of the three nations of the South Caucasus, Armenia, home to a Russian military base, stood out for its loyalty to Moscow. "Russia is essentially the only path to the outside world" for Armenia, the newspaper said, noting the country's relative isolation due to poor relations with neighbours Azerbaijan and Turkey.
However, some observers believe the conflict over South Ossetia, which disrupted gas supplies to Armenia, may be spurring Armenia to seek other supporters in addition to Russia. Armenia took an ambiguous stance on the conflict and refused to follow Moscow's lead in recognising the independence of the rebel Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Armenia is increasingly being courted by Western powers, including the United States and long-time foe Turkey, a big NATO power in the region. Armenia has been visited in recent days by a top US diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, following a historic visit in September by Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
Gul's trip to watch a football match was the first time a Turkish head of state had visited Armenia, reflecting long bitterness over Armenian accusations that mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman Turkey amounted to genocide. Turkey was closely involved in diplomatic efforts over the August war in Georgia, proposing a new format for diplomacy it dubbed a "Platform for Cooperation and Stability in the Caucasus." On Monday the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta said Moscow had been angered by Armenia's less than full support in the conflict with Georgia, saying that "Russian-Armenian relations have left the phase of serenity."
AFP
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