Pashinyan says Armenia does not need Russian military base

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made notable statements at a news conference about the future of Russia’s 102nd military base in the city of Gyumri.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports, citing Armenian media, that the prime minister addressed the issue during his remarks.

According to the reports, Pashinyan said the issue of the military base had been raised by Moscow rather than Yerevan. He stressed that the facility was not vital to Armenia’s security and did not provide an additional contribution to the country’s defense.

He described Russia as a friendly country and said Yerevan would not prevent Russian troops from leaving if Moscow decided to withdraw them. If they wished to remain, he said, the terms of their operations would be reconsidered.

Against a backdrop of growing tensions within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the 102nd military base, which has operated since 1995, is considered Russia’s main foothold in the South Caucasus. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently made a similar statement, saying that Russia was ready to withdraw its military contingent from Armenia immediately if the country no longer needed it. The CSTO is a Russia-led security alliance established in 2002.