Commentary: May Armenia and Russia Remain Inseparable

The interests of the Armenian people are very clear — and not just today but going back to the days of tsarist Russia: having permanent physical security within the borders of Armenia. Clear too are the interests of our great friend to the north, spelled out ever since the days of Peter the Great: to descend via the Armenian Plateau to the warm waters of the south, and, in this case, the oil wells.

Previously, the functions of the military bases were limited just to the external borders of the former Soviet Union (Turkey and Iran). However, now that limitation has been lifted, and Russia has assumed responsibility for Armenia’s military security, as well as cooperation with armed forces, along the internal borders of the Soviet Union (Georgia and Azerbaijan), by securing modern armaments. That is to say, Russia is also committed to the defense of our northern and eastern borders, contrary to the fact that rumors are spreading these days about the delivery of C-300-type missiles to Azerbaijan.

Besides this military agreement, it is important to stress that the amount of business with Russia has increased by 20 percent in this critical period for the world’s economy. Russia is the largest foreign investor in Armenia’s economy; i.e., Russia makes 60 percent of the foreign investments in Armenia. There are 1,250 firms with Russian capital officially registered in Armenia. Furthermore, the willingness to build a railway complex and especially the construction of a new nuclear power plant will guarantee the economic progress of our homeland.

A visit to Gumri’s “Patvo Blur” (Hill of Honor) is as significant as a visit by an American president to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC, which is the final resting place for the American soldiers who died on various battlefronts. That hill is where the bodies of the Russian soldiers who lost their lives in the various Russo-Turkish wars are buried. The “Hill of Honor,” which is a military cemetery, was created in 1856 in then-Alexandropol by Nikolay Muravyov, Russian commander in the Caucasus. The remains of 156 officers in the Russian army, who were killed during the Russo-Turkish wars of 1855 and 1878-1879, are buried there. Located there also is a Russian Orthodox chapel, which was closed following the establishment of Soviet rule and remained so until the 1980s.

In the eyes of the US State Department, the signing of a treaty concerning Russian military centers in Gumri wasn’t all that surprising because that issue pertained to two former allied republics, which have signed an agreement dictated by their national interests. But how did the Armenian Diaspora react to this treaty?

The Hunchak (SD) press greeted it with optimism, as we read Vahan Shirkhanian’s statement in the party’s official organ, Ararat: “I unequivocally consider as positive the extension of the term of the military base and the inclusion of changes in the treaty. Not only was the base set up during the period when I was deputy minister but also I personally presented the agreement involving that base and all its addenda for the approval of the National Assembly.”

The Ramgavar (ADL) press expressed cautious optimism. To wit: Edmond Azadian wrote in Azg daily of Armenia that in the final analysis, all the developments serve to weaken Turkey’s pan-Turanian plans, which, in turn, contrary to the wishes of Russia, the European Union and the United States, can spur the improvement of Iran’s strategic position in the region.

The Tashnag (ARF) press considers it a positive development too. Armen Rustamian, representative of the Supreme Bureau of Armenia’s ARF, put it this way: “The treaty elevates the guarantees of our security to a new level of quality, compared with the old, and that is one of the most important criteria.” According to this ARF spokesman, the party’s attitude toward the aforementioned agreement is favorable since there still doesn’t exist another new system ensuring Armenia’s security. According to him, this developed due to the process of establishing Armeno-Turkish relations. The Tashnag press in the diaspora, in turn, also viewed this treaty with optimism in its editorials. For example, Hairenik weekly of Boston concluded the editorial, “Voch Abazinyal…haches abavinyal” (Not Disarmed…for Security’s Sake) in its August 27 issue as follows: “…the Russian military base, as long as it exists within the territory of the Republic of Armenia, and together with Armenia’s armed forces, will ensure the latter’s security, as well as protect Russia’s interests.”

However, the ARF press saw fit, of course, to pass on another point of view. Thus, on the next page of the same issue, it carried the article by Raffi K. Hovannisian, the first foreign minister of Republic of Armenia and currently leader of the Heritage Party, which reflects a psychological state harking back to the days of the Cold War when it persists in saying “The disproportionality in Russo-Armenian relations is revealed especially in the fundamental lack of mutually respectful cooperation with equal rights.” Skepticism still prevails not so much among current ARF leaders, fortunately, as among the likes of Hovannisian who, in the past, were among the ranks of youth belonging to that organization.

Finally, in conclusion, it must be said that all this is already being recorded as an important juncture in our contemporary history. So, the Turk still remains our common enemy, the same Turk, whether the erstwhile Ottoman, Ittihadist or Kemalist, or the present-day successor. On the other hand, our common friend continues to remain the Russian; like the tsarist Russian of yesteryear and the Soviet Russian, so too is today’s Russian of the Russian Federation our friend, starting with the Treaty of Turkmenchai and continuing up to today’s treaty signed in Yerevan.

And laudable in all of this is the fact that today our three traditional political parties have issued similar statements regarding Russia being Armenia’s only friend. So different from the likes of Dro just yesterday…and so consonant with the likes of Kersam Aharonian, more recently!

History shows that today, as well, we should continue our fraternal relations with Russia.

(Hagop Vartivarian is the chairman of the ADL Press Committee. This article was translated by Aris G. Sevag)