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                Russia's Putin Faces Protests as He Woos Armenia

   by Reuters

   About 500 people marched through the capital of Armenia on Monday to
   denounce visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and to protest
   against plans to join a Moscow-led customs union.
   Some of the crowd in central Yerevan held banners declaring  "Putin, go
   home" or "No to the USSR" - a reference to the Russian leader's efforts
   to bind former Soviet republics together more closely in economic and
   security alliances.
   Putin flew to the South Caucasus country for talks on its decision in
   September to join the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and
   Kazakhstan, but began his visit in another city, Gyumri. He was due
   later Monday in Yerevan.
   The rally in Yerevan followed much larger protests in Ukraine, which
   suspended plans to sign a trade deal with the European Union last week
   and decided to rebuild economic ties with Russia instead.
   Kremlin critics in the West accuse Putin of putting pressure on
   Ukraine, Armenia and other former Soviet republics to reject agreements
   that would increase their integration with the EU.
   Putin has made clear Moscow wants to increase its influence in the
   strategic region sandwiched between Russia, Turkey, Iran and the oil
   and gas deposits of the Caspian Sea basin.
   "We are going to strengthen our position in the South Caucasus, drawing
   on the best of what we have inherited from ancestors and good relations
   with all countries in the region," Putin told a Russian-Armenian
   regional forum in Gyumri.
   "Participation in the Customs Union... already is bringing Russia,
   Kazakhstan and Belarus tangible dividends," he said.
   Police blocked a central street as the demonstrators headed closer to
   the headquarters of President Serzh Sarksyan's administration, and
   protesters handed over a letter urging the government to renounce its
   decision to join the customs union.
   Russia is the biggest foreign investor in Armenia and its  largest
   trading partner. Bilateral trade grew 22 percent to $1.2 billion last
   year. Most trade has been imports to Armenia.
   Three years ago Russia extended its lease on a military base in the
   landlocked, resource-poor nation of 3.2 million until 2044, ensuring it
   maintains a firm foothold in the South Caucasus.
   The region also includes Azerbaijan, which has been embroiled in a
   territorial dispute with Armenia since the Soviet collapse, and
   Georgia, with which Russia fought a five-day war in 2008.
   (Reporting by Hasmik Mrktchyan and Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Steve
   Gutterman and Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
   ^REUTERS@
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   -courts-armenia/1801758.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-russia-putin-faces-protests-as-he-courts-armenia/1801758.html