"Armenia can ensure the security of its airport on its own": Russian border guards will leave Zvartnots
Withdrawal of Russian border guards from Armenia
“Armenia has sent an official letter to Russia regarding the cessation of the work of Russian border guards at Zvartnots Airport in Yerevan,” said secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan during a briefing on March 7.
“Armenia has a clear position on this matter: only Armenian border troops should be responsible for border service at the airport,” he said.
Armenia shares land borders with four countries: Iran, Georgia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Armenian border guards patrol the Armenian-Georgian and Armenian-Azerbaijani borders. The Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Iranian borders are guarded by units of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Armenia signed a corresponding interstate agreement with Russia immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in September 1992.
Armen Grigoryan also commented on other aspects of Armenian-Russian relations, including Armenia’s prospects for participation in the CSTO military bloc (a post-Soviet bloc led by Russia) and arms procurement.
“Armenia has all the capabilities for full control” of its territory”
Secretary of the Security Council stated that over the years of independence, Armenia has acquired various capabilities and skills. And now it is able to independently and effectively control its airport.
Grigoryan also spoke about arms supplies from Russia. He reported that purchases of military equipment from Russia have decreased from 96 percent to less than 10 percent:
“This means that Armenia is implementing a policy of diversification, seeking and finding partners not only in the West but also in Asia, India, and other directions.”
The secretary of the Security Council emphasized that Yerevan has only recently implemented a diversification policy in the security sphere.
“Until at least December 2021, we relied almost 100 percent on Russia for all our security guarantees. And this did not help when security threats arose. We faced large-scale attacks from Azerbaijan and the occupation of Armenian territory [referring to military actions in May 2021 and September 2022].“
“Russia has poor relations with many countries”
Journalists asked the secretary of the Security Council if Armenia is preparing to leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), led by Russia. They did not receive a specific answer to this question.
“We asserted that Armenia shares a border with Azerbaijan, but in the CSTO, they claimed otherwise, and they didn’t even condemn the occupation of Armenian territory.”
Armen Grigoryan said that further relations need to be clarified with the CSTO. He reminded that Armenia expects explanations from the alliance partners regarding their stance on the CSTO’s sphere of responsibility, which includes recognition of Armenia’s borders:
The CSTO should respond, and Armenia’s questions “cannot remain hanging in the air”, Grigoryan said.
“Armenia is often accused of supposedly worsening relations with Russia. However, if you look at the situation more broadly, you’ll see many parallels. If someone’s relations deteriorate with many at once, it’s possibly that someone’s problem. It’s untrue that the West allegedly forces Armenia to spoil relations with Russia,” Grigoryan said.
