National, International, Armenia, and Community News and Opinion

16 The Armenian Reporter | October 4, 2008
Armenia
Military training aims to enhance regional trust
Cooperative
Longbow/Lancer
NATO military
training commences
in Armenia
by Armen Hakobyan
YEREVAN – Sheri Maclean is from
Ontario, Canada. Even though this
is her first visit to Armenia, the
ancient country has already left a
warm impression upon her. She
has visited Republic Square, which
according to her “is simply amazing.”
Armenian soldiers have also
left a good impression on Officer
McLean; some of them are able to
communicate in English.
The Canadian soldier is one of
940 participants in the NATO Cooperative
Longbow/Lancer military
training and has been in Armenia
for the past month. Our conversation
is interrupted when her fellow
soldiers call her for a photograph
with the Canadian flag with the
Biblical Mount Ararat in the background.
The fascination with Ararat
is widespread, especially as today
the holy mountain has pushed
aside the clouds and has revealed
its wondrous peak. After the Canadians,
the Americans take pictures,
and then the Kazakhs, the Moldovans,
and so on.
Officer Maclean and the other
NATO soldiers are at the Armenian
Defense Ministry’s Vazgen Sarkissian
Military Institute, where the
opening ceremony of the Cooperative
Longbow/Lancer military trainings
took place on September 29.
Prior to the opening ceremony,
Lieutenant General John D. Gardner,
deputy commander, Land
Component Command Heidelberg
and Major General Arshaluis Paytyan,
deputy chief of the General
Staff of Military Forces of Armenia,
held a press conference. NATO’s
Armenia’s choices: Russia or NATO or both
Yerevan is able
to maintain
good relations
with Moscow,
Washington, and
Brussels
by Tatul Hakobyan
YEREVAN – One of the architects
of Armenia’s foreign policy of complementarity,
Vartan Oskanian,
used to insist that it was possible
for Yerevan to maintain good and
equal relations with Russia and the
Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) on the one hand and
the European Union and NATO on
the other. Mr. Oskanian also noted
that the principle of complementarity
is completely justified as long as
relations with Russia and the West
remain normal. When Georgia’s attack
on South Ossetia on August
8 turned into Russian aggression
against Georgia, the fragile balance
of Moscow/Washington/Brussels
was breached. Some specialists
even began talking about a return
of the Cold War.
Official Yerevan was able to maintain
good relations with Moscow
and the West. Concerns that Russia
could place its strategic partners,
Cooperative Longbow/Lancer
military trainings are conducted
annually and bring together NATO
members, Partnership for Peace
members as well as Mediterranean
Dialog Nations and Istanbul Initiative
Nations. “It is aimed at the
implementation of crisis response
processes within the framework of
the UN’s mandate, the main aim
of which is improving the cooperation
of NATO’s soldiers and those
of its partner countries in spheres
such as doctrine, procedures, command
headquarter systems and
terminology,” noted the American
general. He thanked the Armenian
side, headed by Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanian, Major General
Arshaluis Paytyan. and training cochair
Murad Isakhanian for their
efforts and the large-scale preparatory
works. Gen. Paytyan said
that such military trainings within
NATO’s partnership are being conducted
in Armenia for the second
time.
The current military trainings
will continue until October 20.
Gen. Gardner first of all noted that
such military trainings create the
opportunity to establish relations,
exchange experience and methods
of working and improve the
professionalism of all participating
Armed Forces. He emphasized
that 900 soldiers from seven NATO
member and 10 partner countries
are involved in the military training.
More than 360 soldiers and
officers from the Armenian Armed
Forces are also participating.
“The military trainings consist of
two phases: multination command
headquarters military trainings on
a brigade level and field trainings
on a battalion level. If we study the
staff of the posts, we can see the
multinational essence of the military
trainings. For example, the
Cooperative Longbow battalion
headquarters consists of officers
from the following countries: the
commander is from Switzerland,
head of headquarters and the intelligence
officer from Austria, the
including Armenia, before a difficult
choice by asking them to recognize
South Ossetia and Abkhazia
were not justified. President Serge
Sargsian explained to Moscow, in
a language that they could understand,
that Armenia could not recognize
those two entities – in the
same way that it did not recognize
Kosovo months earlier. Armenian
authorities made it clear that they
would not recognize them henceforth
because they had not yet recognized
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Official Yerevan has stated on
many occasions that it is realizing
a foreign policy of complementarity,
and deepening its relations
with Russia and CSTO on the one
hand, and the West and NATO on
the other is not contradictory. Will
Armenia be able to continue with
its adopted foreign policy of complementarity
of the past decade
In other words, will it be able to
continue to deepen relations with
the European Union and NATO
without causing discomfort for
Russia, a country which Armenia
depends upon strategically, politically,
and economically.
Arkady Dubnov, an analyst
with the Russian daily Vremya Novostey
told the Armenian Reporter
that following the five-day war, a
new agenda was formed which will
refer initially to the Caucasus. Mr.
Dubnov referred to Kazakhstan as
an example (Kazakhstan is one of
the seven members of CSTO, and
Soldiers at the opening ceremony of NATO exercises in Armenia. Photo: Armen
Hakobyan for the Armenian Reporter..
personnel officer from Armenia,
the military-civilian officer from
the U.S. and the communication
officer from Moldova. The second
part of the military trainings, the
Cooperative Lancer, is a field training
with the following battalion
and headquarter staff: Commander
– Armenia, Head of Headquarters
– Austria, Chief Sergeant – USA, Action
Officer – Bosnia and Herzegovina
and rear guard officer – Greece.
The battalion will work with three
companies, one from Armenia and
the other two comprised of different
nations. This structure proves
the multinational character of the
event,” noted Lt General John D.
Gardner.
He clarified that during the field
trainings mostly light arms are going
to be used. Gen. Paytyan added
that transportation and sanitary
helicopters will also be used. Asked
whether the Roubezh-2008 exercises
recently organized within the
CSTO and Russia cooperation framework
and these military trainings
will not affect or damage the bilateral
cooperation, he said no. He
noted that both military trainings
had been planned in 2007 and were
implemented according to signed
contracts. In essence, according to
one of Russia’s closest allies), who
after the war in August began to
consider the expediency of transporting
Kazakh gas through the
Baku-Tiblis-Ceyhan pipeline, and
has also refused to build a gas refinery
and a grain terminal in Georgia.
According to the Russian analyst,
the Kazakhs are taking steps that
will not irritate Russia.
“I don’t think that Moscow has
similar expectations from Yerevan
because Armenia doesn’t participate
in any regional project which
is unacceptable to Russia. From
a geopolitical perspective, Russia
will continue to be Armenia’s principal
security guarantor as long
as Armenia remains surrounded
by enemies, at least on behalf of
one of its neighbors,” Mr. Dubnov
said.
In his opinion, the five-day war
in August demonstrated that Russia
is prepared to use force to protect
its interests, while the United
States is not prepared to confront
Russia, trying to avoid being
pulled into an extensive war. According
to Mr. Dubnov, Armenia
cannot ignore Russia’s position
in the Caucasus nor the existence
of a Russian military base in Gyumri.
“However all of this does not
mean that Yerevan is obligated to
become a vassal of Moscow and
under this pressure relinquish its
relations with the West and NATO
or slow down cooperation, with a
clear stipulation that Armenia does
not intend to become a member
of NATO in the future. I hope that
in the Kremlin they realize that
pressure against Armenia in the
end will have a boomerang effect
and can create anti-Russian sentiments,”
concluded Mr. Dubnov.
Aghavni Karakhanian, director
of the Yerevan-based Institute
for Civil Society and Regional Development
(ICSRD), believes that
Armenia must not change its foreign
policy. Ms. Karakhanian believes
that Armenia must not only
maintain its foreign policy of complementarity
but it must further
develop and supplement it.
“Today, our foreign policy of complementarity
has justified itself like
never before. It is possible to say
that it is the only reasonable choice,
and as a foreign policy principle its
accurateness has been proven. The
August crisis demonstrated that
to ‘hang on by a single branch,’ no
matter how strong it is, is not justified,”
Ms. Karakhanian told the
Armenian Reporter.
Asbed Kotchikian, a lecturer at
Bentley College told the Armenian
Reporter that the idea of complementary
foreign policy was appreciated
by pro-Russian circles as a euphemism
for lip service to the West
and a full-spectrum relationship
with Russia. Other circles, on the
other hand, regarded it as a positive
sign where Armenian diplomacy
had finally come up with an
the general’s evaluation, the effectiveness
of the military trainings
organized within the CSTO framework
was high and best results are
expected from this military training,
especially when “these military
trainings are aimed at the maintenance
of general peace.” Even
though during the planning stage
it was decided that Georgia would
participate in the ongoing military
trainings with one battalion, as
General Paytyan noted, “because of
obvious reasons, Georgia’s Armed
Forces are not participating. In the
preliminary phase it was decided
that Russia would participate, but
currently, naturally, it is not participating.
As far as the others are
concerned, including Turkey and
Azerbaijan, each of them decides
the level of its participation.”
In a speech at the opening ceremony,
Arthur Baghdasarian,
secretary of Armenia’s Security
Council, stressed Armenia’s complementary
approach to cooperating
with both NATO and the CSTO.
“These military trainings are a very
good example for successfully organizing
Armenia-NATO activities
and we are sure that cooperation
will continue. Only a month ago
the Rubezh-2008 military trainings
conducted within the CSTO
framework successfully concluded
in Armenia. I am sure that this
military training will also conclude
successfully.”
During his welcoming speech
to the participants of the military
training, Defense Minister Ohanian
noted in particular that it is
not a coincidence that the soldiers
of NATO’s Partnership for Peace
and Istanbul Initiative Nations,
17 member states and NATO’s different
structures despite their diversity
are preparing to jointly resolve
all problems put before them
during the training, as one team.
“From this point of view I can only
express regret that our neighbor
EAPC (Euro-Atlantic Partnership
Council) member states are not
participating for different reasons.
Unfortunately, this once again
proves that security is fragile in the
South Caucasus. I assure you that
peace and stability are absolute
values for the Republic of Armenia.
We regard this military training as
an important way of strengthening
trust in the region,” announced the
defense minister.
Noting that Armenia willingly
accepts any international military
training whether it be within the
frameworks of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization and Partnership
for Peace project, or the European
command headquarters of
the United States, and does its best
to conduct them professionally, Mr.
Ohanian said, “The hosting of the
military trainings has one aim only,
to raise our potential for practical
cooperation in peacekeeping as far
as possible, to develop their implementation
methods, to gain experience
and to pass it down to our
subdivisions participating in the
trainings. This aim is reconfirmed
by the Republic of Armenia, as a
full member of the international
community, by it willingness to
carry out its responsibilities, raise
its international image and credibility,
and to play its part in guaranteeing
international security.” f
elegant, flexible, noncontroversial
formula to get things moving toward
greater diversification of the
country’s policy choices, while at
the same time providing conservatives
some room to engage and
own stakes in the debate.
“While the concept of complementary
foreign policy was welcomed in
Armenian circles, the international
and regional community could not
make sense of it and sometimes
even criticized what they perceived
as Armenia’s attempts to play various
international powers against
each other. To say that Armenia’s
complementary foreign policy was
successful is wrong; perhaps a better
word would be it was tolerated
by both sides,” said Mr. Kotchikian.
Vicken Cheterian, who writes
about the Caucasus in many European
publications, reminds us
that in the post–Cold War reality,
after the collapse of the military
blocs, and the development of a
globalized economy, international
relations functions on the basis of
“complementarity.”
“Armenia did not discover this
approach. But early on Armenian
foreign policy was wisely balancing
between different influences – Russia,
U.S., Iran, Europe, among others
– and as a result profiting from
such an approach,” Mr. Cheterian
told the Armenian Reporter.
Continued on page 17 m