RUSSIAN MILITARY POST IN ARMENIA CUT, RUSSIA PREPARING TO INVADE IRAN: ANALYSIS
epress.am
12.15.2011
More than a year ago, Russia began to take steps to minimize losses
from a possible military action against Tehran, and now preparations
are nearly complete. The Russian military base in Armenia is fully
optimized, military families have been evacuated from the country,
the Russian garrison stationed near Yerevan has been cut, and military
units have been moved to Gyumri, closer to the Turkish border. The
US troops can hit targets in Iran from Turkey, writes Russian news
source Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
In connection with the prospect of war against Iran, Russia~Rs
Ministry of Defense is wary of Azerbaijan, which in the past three
years has doubled its military budget, acquiring Israeli drones and
other advanced means of intelligence. In addition, Baku has stepped
up pressure on Moscow, demanding that it pay more in rent for the
use of its Gabala radar station.
Expert opinions on how Azerbaijan might react to conflict south of its
borders are split in two. Director of the Center for Military Forecasts
Anatoly Tsyganok believes that even with the dispute between Iran and
Azerbaijan over oil fields south of the Caspian Sea, it~Rs difficult
to confidently say that Baku would support an anti-Iranian military
campaign. It is very unlikely that it will choose to take advantage
of the situation to unleash hostilities against Armenia.
Military expert Vladimir Popov, however, believes that Azerbaijan
might take advantage of the situation to resolve the Karabakh issue
in its favor.
In this case, the expert said, Russia, of course, with Armenian armed
forces, will repeal Azerbaijan~Rs attacks, but will not take part in
the hostilities in the territory of Nagorno Karabakh.
Another country worrying Russia against the backdrop of possible
military conflict in Iran is Georgia. In April, Armenia~Rs northern
neighbor cut short its agreement to allow the transfer of military
cargo from Russia to its base in Armenia through Georgia, so that in
fact the Russian-Armenian alliance in the South Caucasus is already
isolated.
Russia gets diesel fuel from Armenia, which purchases it from Iran.
Thus, war in Iran might suspend fuel through this channel.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2011/12/15/russian-military-post-in-armenia-cut-russia-preparing-to-invade-ira/
