According to the Armenian government, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on that withdrawal during talks in Moscow held on Tuesday. The border guards are to leave the Agarak crossing by January 1.
Under another agreement reported by Yerevan, starting from next year, Armenian border guards “will also participate in the protection” of their country’s borders with Iran and Turkey together with their Russian colleagues. The scale of that participation is not yet clear.
“It is logical that the borders of the Republic of Armenia should eventually be guarded [only] by the relevant services of the Republic of Armenia,” said Sargis Khandanian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations.
Khandanian could say when Yerevan might tell Moscow to withdraw its border guards from the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Iranian frontiers.
“Presumably, at some moment in the future we will be ready to fully perform service on both borders. But that issue is not discussed at the moment,” the pro-government lawmaker told journalists.
Tigran Abrahamian, a senior member of the opposition Pativ Unem bloc, expressed serious concern at such a prospect. Abrahamian argued that the Russian military presence has for decades served as a “deterrent” against possible Turkish invasion of Armenia or military pressure on it. He said it has also enabled the country to use the bulk of its scarce military and security resources in the conflict with Azerbaijan.
“In that sense, as long as there is no full settlement with Azerbaijan or the likelihood of war has not decreased sharply, I think that before taking such a step we must take into account our available human resources and use them in the right directions,” he said.
Abrahamian also dismissed government claims that the departure of Russian security personnel from the Armenian-Iranian border checkpoint will “increase Armenia’s sovereignty.” He suggested that it is a mere publicity stunt aimed at scoring points in the West. Armenia is once again being drawn into the West’s global standoff with Russia without getting anything in return, added Abrahamian.