Kars-Akhalkalaki railway will ‘force Armenia into NATO’

 
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Tiko Giorgadze)

At a press conference in Yerevan, opposition Armenian MP Amaiak Ovanesian said that Armenia will have to leave the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) established under the aegis of Russia, and enter NATO.

Ovanesian thinks that the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway (which links Turkey to Azerbaijan via Georgia, bypassing Armenia) “will become a cordon sanitare that will separate Armenia not only from Georgia but from its ally Russia,” Ovanesian said, reports the newspaper Rezonansi.

“The existence of the current axis of Iran, Armenia and Russia will become impossible. For this reason, Armenia’s membership in the CSTO that guarantees the country’s security will become pointless,” said Ovanesian, adding that Armenia will have to think of integration into NATO.

In April this year, former parliament speaker of Armenia, Artur Baghdasarian said that “the future of Armenia is in the EU and NATO”. Two days later Armenian President Robert Kocharian contradicted him, saying Armenia has no plans to join the alliance, leading to Baghdasarian’s resignation, and move into opposition. 

http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/1245_november_28_2006/eco_1245_2.htm