Russian base in Armenia to stay through 2044

[August 20, 2010]  YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- Armenia will let a Russian military base operate until 2044 in exchange for a promise of new weaponry and a fresh guarantee that Moscow will protect Armenian security, the two countries' presidents announced Friday.

The 24-year extension will also allow the base's fighter jets and thousands of troops to operate outside former Soviet territory, lifting a previous restriction.

"The protocol doesn't just allow the Russian military base to stay in Armenia for a longer period, it also extends the sphere of its geographic and strategic responsibility," Sarkisian said.

The agreement could raise tensions between Armenia and neighboring Azerbaijan, who have clashed over Nagorno-Karabakh, a rebellious ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan's territory. Azerbaijan shares ethnic and cultural bonds and close ties with Turkey.

Armenia also awarded Russia with a contract to build two new reactors at a Soviet-era built nuclear power plant.

Russia has maintained close ties with Armenia since the Soviet collapse, providing economic assistance to the landlocked nation, whose economy has been crippled by blockades by Azerbaijan and its Turkey over the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian already provides a security guarantee to Armenia under a security alliance of several ex-Soviet nations: it was not clear how the new guarantee would be different.

Russia's base in Armenia has about 5,000 troops along with MiG-29 fighter jets and S-300 air defense missiles, according to Russian and Armenian reports citing official sources.

Medvedev said the base is intended to "support peace and stability in southern Caucasus, and the entire Caucasus region."

Nagorno-Karabakh has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year conflict ended with a 1994 truce.

Azerbaijan in the past has often voiced concern about Russian military cooperation with Armenia.

Russia is taking part in mediation efforts on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict along with the United States and France under auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, but attempts to reach a settlement have failed and sporadic clashes have continued in a tense zone around the region.

"We have neither peace, nor war," Sarkisian said Friday. "It's bad that there is no peace, but at least there is no war."

Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement last October to restore diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border, but neither has ratified it.

[Associated Press; By AVET DEMOURIAN]

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