FACTOMETER
en
ру
հյ
Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov announced after the Putin-Pashinyan meeting on May 8 that at the request of the Armenian side, the Russian border guards will remain on the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Iranian borders, while the leaders of the two countries agreed on the withdrawal of Russian border guards from a number of regions of Armenia.
“Both Pashinyan and Putin agreed on this issue. But at the request of the Armenian side, Russian border guards will stay at the border with Iran and Turkey,” Peskov said.
Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated during the May 15 briefing that during the negotiations between the leaders of Russia and Armenia, the withdrawal of Russian border guards from a number of regions bordering Azerbaijan was discussed at the request of the Armenian side.
Later, on May 15, Edmon Marukyan, chairperson of the Bright Armenia Party told CivilNet that the Armenian side “asks in Moscow that they (Russian border guards – Ed.) stay.” To the observation that Peskov announced about the request, Marukyan noted that Armenia did not deny it.
However, during an interview with Petros Ghazaryan on May 16, the Secretary of the RA Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, denied the statement of the spokesperson of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, that the Armenian side had requested that the Russian border guards continue their service on the Armenia-Iran and Armenian-Turkey borders.
“We offered the Russian side to withdraw from three places (airport, 17 positions in Tavush, bases in Syunik) because their deployment was the result of verbal agreements. They agreed, and asked if we want them to leave the Armenia-Iran and Armenia-Turkey borders as well. We noted that the deployment of Russian border guards at those points is contract-based, and we are not discussing it at the moment,” Armen Grigoryan said.
What does the agreement about the deployment of Russian border guards say?
The deployment of Russian border guards in Armenia was established by the Treaty between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation on the Status and Operating Conditions of the Border Troops of the Russian Federation on the Territory of the Republic of Armenia of September 30, 1992. Armenia was the first country with which, after the collapse of the USSR, Russia signed an agreement on joint defense of external borders.
Article 2 of the treaty states that, in the interests of its own security, the security of the Russian Federation, and ensuring the collective security of the CIS participating states, within its territory, the Republic of Armenia shall authorize the protection of the state border with Turkey and Iran to the Russian border guard troops, which shall be deployed in the RA territory at the time of signing the treaty.
When were the Russian border guards deployed on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border?
On June 4, 2021, during a meeting with the Governor of Syunik Province Melikset Poghosyan, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin said that taking into account the escalation of the situation on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the number of Russian border guard troops has increased in the republic.
Speaking to journalists on July 7, 2021, Sergey Kopirkin, referring to the deployment of Russian border guards on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, said: “You know, the Russian border guards are already in Syunik. There are positions of Russian border guards in the area of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which contribute to the stability of the situation,” and added that substantive discussions and consultations are underway on the issues of border guard deployment along the border in Gegharkunik Province.
On August 5, 2021, the RA Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of Russian border guards in the northern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the Tavush Province of Armenia (in particular, Voskepar village) “within the framework of Armenian-Russian cooperation”.
Thus, at the Putin-Pashinyan meeting in Moscow on May 8, an agreement was reached on the withdrawal of Russian border guards from the Armenian-Azerbaijani borders. But Russian border guards will continue their service on the Armenia-Iran and Armenia-Turkey borders.
At the same time, it should be noted that the Treaty between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation on the Status and Operating Conditions of the Border Troops of the Russian Federation on the Territory of the Republic of Armenia does not specify the period of time for which the Russian border guard troops will be stationed in Armenia.
Syuzanna Hambardzumyan
