After the previous official visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia and the negotiations with the president of Russia in May of this year, the dates of the withdrawal of the Russian border guards from Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport became known. The withdrawal of Russian military and border guards from a number of regions of Armenia, namely Tavush, Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik and Ararat, was also agreed upon on May 8 at the meeting of Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan in Moscow.
Now they will “leave” the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Iranian borders, EADaily wrote.
The authorities of Armenia have a clear desire to gradually take full control of the defense of borders with Turkey and Iran, refusing the services of the Russian side.
The hypothesis that some Armenian analysts voiced the other day about Yerevan starting the process of complete “liberation” from the Russian military presence in the republic is worthy of attention. This assumption suggests the sequence of steps taken by the leadership of Armenia: freezing of CSTO membership, the withdrawal of Russian border guards from Zvartnots airport, and the upcoming joint service with them on the Armenian-Iranian and Armenian-Turkish borders. If we continue this sequence of Yerevan’s decisions, then its next steps imply the complete assumption of border protection and the question of the expediency of the further presence of the 102nd military base of the Russian Armed Forces in Gyumri, which is close to the border with Turkey.
