Azernews.Az

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Based on a new agreement, the Armenian army will be controlled by a center in Russia.

The agreement was signed at the Collective Security Treaty Organization's recent summit in Moscow on December 23.

During the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the armed forces of all CSTO member states - Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - will be united under a single defense center.

"A new National Center for Defense Management has been established in Moscow and all CSTO members will join the center," Putin said, adding that the center will improve the management of the defense systems and coordinate operations of the regional armed forces.

The decision sparked mix reactions in Armenia, as several experts believe that Russia has decided to grab the post-Soviet states for a vital part: army. Meanwhile, any decision on the national armies of the CSTO member-states needs Moscow’s approval.

Experts say the army was the only sovereign body in Armenia as its economy and politics are already controlled by Russia. And now, Armenia is forced to bid farewell to its independent army and wait for a signal from Moscow to take a military action.

Moreover, the Armenian army was a sovereign body holding tight relations with NATO and several other important states by diversifying the arms sales and gaining intelligence experiences.

Rasim Musabeyov, an Azerbaijani political expert, said in an interview with Azernews that the decision to join the common defense center will not change anything for Armenia since the country is an outpost of Russia in the region.

"Russia and Armenia have already established close military ties. Almost 30 percent of the servicemen in Russia's military bases in the territory of Armenia are of Armenian origin. So, it is not new for the post-Soviet country," he noted.

President Serzh Sargsyan's speech at the CSTO summit praised Russia for its sustainable assistance to Armenia. He also complained about recent outbreaks of violence on the contact line with Azerbaijan. But he didn’t say anything about Putin's call to unite national armies under a single roof.

Experts claim that the full colonization of Armenia with a sovereign army has been difficult for Russia and that’s why Putin is now determined to destroy the last remnants of Armenia's sovereignty by taking its army under control.

Some other specialists believe that the army is a key factor of Armenia's geopolitical power which had kept its independence even after full concession of other bodies to Russia.

According to experts, Armenia’s membership at the Eurasian Economic Union reveals the economic dependence of the country on Russia. Now, the country is being deprived even of its army. In other words, Armenia is losing its identity under a huge cloud called Russia.