Civilnet
The Russian Federation will provide $5 million in aid to the United Nations Development Program to realize a number of projects in Armenia’s northeastern marz of Tavush.
The Tavush region has strategic and pivotal significance for Armenia - it is the main territory through which freight traffic to Russia and other CIS countries travels and it also shares a state border with Azerbaijan.
According to a press release issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the aid will be directed to a program that seeks to ensure sustainable development in rural communities within the UNDP framework of assistance to Armenia.
The funds will be allocated over 2015-2019 and the project envisages supporting balanced development, increasing efficiency and income of farmers, reducing poverty and contributing to a higher quality of life. Purportedly, 62 thousand people will benefit from this program.
It is important to note that Russian assistance to Armenia in the form of aid for sustainable development and poverty reduction, compared to other foreign donors, has been scant since independence.
The Russian foreign ministry said that this aid will also contribute to Armenia’s efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals and lead to the deepening and strengthening of Russian-Armenian relations, which have been tested recently.
Russian soldier Valery Permyakov who was stationed at the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri, allegedly murdered seven members of the Avetisyan family on January 12 while they slept. His capture and custody have become a source of contention between the two countries. Permyakov continues to remain in custody at the Russian base and chances of him being handed over to Armenian authorities are slim as the Russian constitution does not allow its citizens be extradited to a third country. Armenia has now petitioned Russia, seeking jurisdiction over the accused in an effort to appease a very outraged Armenian public.
Armenia and Russia are member states, along with Kazakhstan and Belarus of the newly-created Eurasian Economic Union and the two countries are also signatories to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military arrangement, which for the most part is formal in nature, however successive Armenian governments have said that it is essential to Armenia’s security against any threats of foreign invasion.
Armenia’s border villages in the Tavush marz have constantly come under Azerbaijani military gunfire. Since August 2014, tensions along the border have escalated leading to countless accounts of ceasefire violations by the Azerbaijani side. While Armenia and Russia are signatories to CSTO, that organization has made very few overtures or comments about the situation along Armenia’s borders.
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