The border guards have for decades been stationed along Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran as well as at Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport. During and after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, they were also deployed, along with Russian army units, to some sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Some Armenian media outlets have reported in recent weeks that the Armenian government now wants them to leave Zvartnots amid its mounting tensions with Moscow. Simonian did not confirm those reports. But he did call for Russian withdrawal from the airport.
“We will defend the borders of our country, but I’m not sure they will defend the borders of our country,” Simonian told reporters, clearly referring to not only the border guards but also Russian troops. “It was proved on a number of occasions that they didn’t protect [Armenia] and even did everything to make those borders much more vulnerable.”
The controversial speaker, who is a leading member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team, went on to point to the failure of Russian peacekeeping forces to prevent or stop last September’s Azerbaijani military offensive that forced Nagorno-Karabakh’s practically entire population to flee to Armenia.
“What did they do in Nagorno-Karabakh? They escorted the Armenian population out [of the region] … One day they could also escort me and you out of Zvartnots,” he said.
Simonian’s remarks are another indication of a deepening rift between Pashinian’s government and Moscow. Visiting Paris last week, Pashinian declared that Armenia has effectively “frozen” its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The Kremlin responded by demanding official explanations from Yerevan.
Pashinian has so far stopped short of demanding the withdrawal of the Russian troops or border guards from Armenia. His domestic critics say he will eventually do so at the behest of Western powers locked in the geopolitical standoff with Russia over Ukraine. While also criticizing Moscow’s actions in the region, they say that a Russian withdrawal would only encourage Azerbaijan and even Turkey to invade Armenia.
Armen Rustamian, a lawmaker from the main opposition Hayastan alliance, suggested that Simonian’s calls for the removal of Russian security personnel from the Yerevan airport are the first step towards the Armenian government demanding an end to the Russian military presence. He warned of “destructive” consequences of such a development.
