Interviewed by “Aravot,” a Georgian political analyst, Gela Vasadze, stresses the significance of the latest U.S.-led military exercises taking place in Georgia. He says that the “Noble Partner” drills are not only involving more troops, including from Armenia, but also happening amid growing tensions between Russia and the West. Vasadze claims that the West lost patience with Moscow after the latter interfered in the last U.S. presidential election.
“As regards Armenia’s participation in the NATO exercises in this situation, I don’t know what explanations Armenia’s authorities will give to their Russian partners regarding that,” continues the analyst. “But whatever that explanation, it’s clear that it will be a mere formality. Clearly, they realize in Yerevan today that too many eggs are placed in one basket.”
Lragir.am says that continued deliveries of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan have caused discontent in Yerevan, including from Armenian government circles. The pro-Western publication speculates that Yerevan decided to join the drills in Georgia in response to that. It says that Armenian leaders are no longer buying into Russian claims that Azerbaijan could have bought offensive weapons from other countries had Moscow refused to sign massive arms deals with Baku.
Richard Giragosian, a Yerevan-based analyst, tells Tert.am that Armenia can serve as a “bridge” between Russia and the United States while remaining a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). “The danger of being the cause of a confrontation between the U.S. and Russia is not that great,” he says.
(Tigran Avetisian)
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