Press Digest 22.01.2014

Armenian Diocese accuses Russian journalists of spreading lies

Will Russia and Iran create a military alliance?

Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia cannot confirm recently released information by Russian media outlets about the Armenian side urging UNESCO to recognize 450 churches in Georgia as property of the Armenian Diocese. Moreover, they labeled this information as “an absolute lie”, - reports the Rezonansi newspaper.

“This is nothing more than a barefaced lie. The Armenian side has never asked UNESCO to do this. This false formation was first released by Russia’s «Vesti Kavkaza». We responded immediately and accused them of spreading false formation. After that, we urged them to publish our letter, but they refused.

We have actually called upon the Georgian authorities to return our churches to us as well as territories where they once stood; however, information that the Armenian side appealed to UNESCO to urge the Georgian government to return our temples to us is nowhere near the truth,”- says the head of the legal department of the Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church, Levon Isakhanyan.

This issue must be handled by the Georgian authorities and Armenians have nothing to do with it. Generally, such issues are not discussed by UNESCO. I think that by spreading such false formation they only want to pit Georgians against Armenians. Why they would do this is a mystery,”- concludes the respondent.

Will Russia and Iran create a military alliance?

According to military expert Vakhtang Maisaia, by completing the military agreement, Russia and Iran aim to create an anti-American Alliance that will be on par with NATO.

The expert is sure that this Russia-Iran cooperation and their intention to form an anti-American Alliance will heighten tensions in the region and put Georgia’s safety at risk.

Reportedly, the Russian and Iranian Defense Ministers have already signed the agreement in Tehran,”- reports the Rezonansi paper.

"From now on, the two sides will get involved in active military cooperation as well as negotiations; plus, they will prepare their soldiers, exchange delegations and, of course, share experience in this field.

The present developments in the region and around the world have pushed the two powerhouse states - Iran and Russia to take joint actions,”- declared Iran’s Defense Minister.

According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, the two states face some pressing challenges in the region which they have to negotiate through joint efforts,”- reports the paper.

By finalizing this agreement, Russia and Iran are actually forming an anti-American Alliance. They have not even tried to hide this fact and made it clear that they are ready to get involved in active military cooperation.

Today, Russia has, in fact, declared a cold war on America and broadened its cooperation with Iran. As they say, their alliance will be enlarged in the future,”- states Vakhtang Maisaia.

“The two countries are also providing each other with arms and, most importantly, they are planning to bring about some changes in the region; they want to expand their military presence in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.

It’s difficult to predict what kind of dangers we will have to deal with soon; however, there is no doubt that we are in a rather difficult situation today,”- concludes the expert.