In the grand scheme of things, Armenia is a relatively
insignificant country. No major
transportation routes traverse it. It
has minimal natural resources. Its economy
is stagnant, and its major export is, in fact, migrant workers, a steady flow
of whom has depleted the population by several hundred thousand since
independence. Strategically, it is
entirely dependent on Russia, which supplies most of its arms at preferential
rates, maintains several military bases, guards its 'external' borders, and owns much of its economic infrastructure.
Reports of today's sensational about-turn by Armenia’s current president during a
visit to Moscow should therefore not have come as a surprise; Armenia’s long-standing insistence on initialling the Association Agreement
with the European Union during the Vilnius Summit in November this year – despite of its military-strategic dependence on Moscow – had been far more puzzling. And yet, that policy formed part of a longer
tradition, a ‘silent accord’ whereby Yerevan was allowed to participate in
European integration processes by Moscow, provided it co-operated with Russia on the military front, and did not pursue actual membership of any Euro-Atlantic structures.
