Armenian expert sees regional oil pipeline as threat to national security
Arminfo
27 Jul 05
YEREVAN
Armenia’s rejection of membership of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization [CSTO] will reduce the combat readiness of its armed
forces by half, a representative of the international relations
faculty of Yerevan State University, Aram Arutyunyan, told the
“External and internal threats to Armenia’s national security” seminar
today.
“Those saying that it is more appropriate to enter NATO in conditions
of incessant vengeful statements coming from Azerbaijan are either
fulfilling someone’s political order or are engaged in sheer
populism,” Arutyunyan said.
He said Azerbaijan’s and Georgia’s interest in entering NATO was
initially explained by the desire of these countries’ political elites
to put the blame for their own military defeats on Russia, while now
it is also backed by revenge. Moreover, it will take Armenia years and
enormous expenses to re-equip its army and create new logistics for
the armed forces, he said.
“Up to now, military cooperation with Russia was intended to address
the task of modernizing the armed forces. Azerbaijan may spend
billions on Phantom and Mirage planes, but the NATO programmes the
Azerbaijanis are so proud of were also attended by our officers,” the
expert in international relations said.
At the same time, Aram Arutyunyan said Armenia’s national security was
primarily jeopardized by the country’s isolation, the functioning of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, attempts to solve the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict militarily, a possible US invasion of Iran,
the possible deterioration of US-Russian relations and even the
efforts of the Armenian diaspora towards the international recognition
of the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire.
Aram Arutyunyan’s opponents said it was important to remember the
stabilizing role of the BTC pipeline. They added that the West’s
interest in the pipeline’s uninterrupted operation would compel it to
take all the necessary measures to that end.
The expert from the Armenian centre of national and strategic
research, Alen Gevondyan, said the main threat to Armenia’s security
and sovereignty was the weakness of the Armenian opposition and its
inclination to appeal to external forces. He said that in conditions
of a continuing conflict on the border, any revolution might have
bitter ramifications for Armenia.
“One of the biggest threats to the country’s security and sovereignty
is posed by the illegitimate administration,” the press secretary of
the opposition People’s Party, Ruzan Khachatryan, said. Meanwhile, the
deputy chairman of the Armenian Liberal Progressive Party, Edvard
Antinyan, compared the opposition to a beaten up and bleeding wife. He
said that saving her life should be a higher priority than saving the
family.