JULY 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s military ordered a readiness check of its units stations in Armenia, the AFP news agency reported. The military garrison stationed in Armenia is one of Russia’s largest overseas deployments.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JUNE 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Russian soldier was found stabbed to death in the city of Gyumri, Armenia, home to one of Russia’s largest overseas military bases. Media reported that another Russian soldier has been detained on suspicion of killing the man.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
MAY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US and Georgian forces began two weeks of military exercises, war games which are likely to irritate neighbouring Russia. The exercises are an annual arrangement designed to increase understanding and cooperation between the two armies. Georgia wants to join NATO.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament approved a Russian plan to extend the life-span of the Metsamor nuclear plant by 11 years to 2026, media reported.
Metsamor, built in the 1970s, provides 40% of Armenia’s power but it is controversial. There are concerns over its safety record and its position in an area known for earthquakes.
Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom will carry out maintenance at the nuclear site, media reported, a project also funded by Russian cash. In February, Russia agreed to lend Armenia $230m to pay for the maintenance and also to give a $30m grant.
Whatever Armenia professes about its various pro-West policies, it is in Russia’s pocket. Russia owns the gas pipeline monopoly, maintains a large military base in Armenia and has pulled Yerevan into its economic union.
This nuclear deal at Metsamor, which has been a few years in the making, just confirms its grip over Armenia.
The Metsamor nuclear plant, which sits near Yerevan near the border with Turkey, is no stranger to controversy. In 2011, the National Geographic magazine published a story with the headline: “Is Armenia’s Nuclear Plant the World’s Most Dangerous?”
The EU and the US appear to think so. The EU offered Armenia nearly $300m to fund the closure of the nuclear plant, an offer Armenia rejected.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
APRIL 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Only a few months after agreeing a 35m euro/year deal to extend the lease on a German military base in south Uzbekistan, the Uzbek government wants to double the rent, the eurasianet.org website reported quoting German media. The German military base is now the only Western base in Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 226, published on April 8 2015)
FEB. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s military will equip its Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan with up-to-date fighter-jets, media quoted Colonel Jaroslav Roschupkin, a Russian army spokesman, as saying. Russia has, generally, been looking to beef up its military deployments in Central Asia, especially at the Kant airbase.
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(News report from Issue No. 220, published on Feb. 25 2015)
FEB. 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia described NATO’s move to open a training base in Georgia as a provocation. NATO intends to open the base this year. Alexander Grushko, Russia’s envoy to NATO, said: “Emergence of NATO military facilities in Georgia is a step towards escalation of tension and worsening of regional security.”
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(News report from Issue No. 218, published on Feb. 11 2015)
JAN. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The German ambassador to Uzbekistan, Neithart Höfer-Wissing, officially confirmed that Germany was going to maintain its military base near Termez, south Uzbekistan, German media reported . A deal was made between the Uzbek and German government last year, although details were kept secret.
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(News report from Issue No. 217, published on Feb. 4 2015)
JAN. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The German ambassador to Uzbekistan, Neithart Höfer-Wissing, officially confirmed that Germany was going to maintain its military base near Termez, south Uzbekistan, German media reported. A deal was made between the Uzbek and German government last year, although details were kept secret.
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(News report from Issue No. 217, published on Feb. 4 2015)
JAN. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian defence minister, Anatoly Anatonov, emphasised once again that Russia wanted to strengthen its garrison in Tajikistan because of a perceived increase in threat from the Taliban now that NATO forces have withdrawn from Afghanistan. Russia has around 7,000 soldiers in Tajikistan, its largest overseas base.
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(News report from Issue No. 217, published on Feb. 4 2015)