Latest Articles about Armenia
Russia Pushes Hard to Capture South Caucasus’ Energy Markets
Tbilisi and Moscow’s negotiations over the expansion of Russian Gazprom’s share of the Georgian energy market heightened the political fever in the country over the last several weeks. The negotiations that started largely in secrecy in September 2015 (see EDM, October 21, 2015), have continued... MORE
Armenia, Georgia, Iran and Russia Plan to Expand Energy Cooperation
In Yerevan, on December 23, the energy ministers of Armenia, Georgia, and Iran as well as the chief executive of the Rosseti joint-stock company, which manages Russia’s power distribution grids, signed a memorandum on cooperation in the energy sphere. According to the Armenian Ministry of... MORE
Armenia Facing Demographic Collapse
“ ‘All progressive humanity’ is concerned by the periodic reports about the disappearance of this or that type of plant or animal, [but] we are much less concerned about the disappearance of nations and nationalities,” Armenian expert Gevork Pogosyan says. Yet, as the post-Soviet period... MORE
Russia Expands Military Presence in Armenia, Deepens Confrontational Rhetoric
The November 24 downing of the Russian Su-24 bomber by the Turkish air force has resulted in a serious deterioration in bilateral relations and the deployment of additional Russian units to Syria (see EDM, November 30, December 3), as well as an upsurge in anti-Turkish... MORE
Russia Seeks Further Expansion of Military and Political Influence in Armenia
On November 9, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov traveled to Armenia. The visit was agreed upon shortly before. The next day, President Vladimir Putin ordered the government of Russia to start negotiations with Armenia on establishing a joint regional air defense system (Pravo.gov.ru,... MORE
Moscow Frustrates Attempts to Resolve Karabakh Conflict, and Curtails Yerevan’s Foreign Policy Options
As part of a regional visit, the co-chairs (representatives of the United States, France and Russia) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group visited the Armenian capital of Yerevan on October 26. The next day, they traveled to Karabakh and met... MORE
Russia’s Syria Intervention and the Implications for the South Caucasus
The wider South Caucasus region is conspicuously located between the battlefields of Syria and the Caspian Sea. Therefore, Russia’s use of cruise missiles, launched (on October 7) by ships belonging to its Caspian Flotilla, to hit targets in Syria had inadvertently put the region briefly... MORE
Sale of Armenia’s Monopoly Electricity Distributor Confirmed
On September 30, the Russian firm RAO UES International and Tashir Group—a Moscow-based group of companies controlled by a Russian billionaire of Armenian origin, Samvel Karapetyan—announced the signing of an agreement pertaining to the sale of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), which is owned by... MORE
Armenian Government Allows Sale of Country’s Sole Electricity Distributor
On September 17, Armenia’s Energy Minister Yervand Zakharyan told journalists in Yerevan that the government’s final decision about RAO UES International’s intention to sell 100 percent of the shares of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) should be expected within one week (Armenpress.am, September 17). By... MORE
Armenia’s Regional Energy and Transport Cooperation Squeezed by Russia
Shortly after the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian ambassador to Armenia, Mohammad Reyisi, gave several interviews to Armenian newspapers and news agencies concerning perspectives for future bilateral cooperation. Ambassador Reyisi noted that the joint construction of a hydroelectric plant on the river Arax could... MORE