Withdrawal of Russian Border Guards from Armenian Borders will Affect Country’s Security – Russian FM

MOSCOW — The withdrawal of Russian border guards from the borders of Armenia will affect the security of this country, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said today.

Speaker of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan recently stated that the Armenian authorities should think about whether Armenia needs Russian border guards on its borders with Turkey and Iran.

Zakharova noted today that Russian border guards have repeatedly confirmed the need for their presence in Armenia, including preventing illegal crossing of the Armenian border and suppressing attempts at drug trafficking.

“When people who are not specialists in this field so freely discuss this topic, perhaps it makes sense to give the floor to those who have been really guarding the border of Armenia, not sitting in soft chairs, but with weapons in their hands, on the front lines for many years. Maybe we should ask them? Maybe they will have their say?” Zakharova noted.

“In our opinion, in considering the expediency of the Russian border guards’ stay on Armenia’s border, we should take into account how, in general, the exposure of the border will affect the country’s security in a situation where the full normalization of the situation in the region has not been achieved yet,” she added.

On July 31, representatives of the Russian Border Service handed over the checkpoint at the Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan to the Armenian side.

According to the National Security Service of Armenia, in accordance with the agreement between Armenia and Russia from 1992, servicemen of the Russian Border Service guard the state border of Armenia with Turkey, as well as with Iran.