ArmInfo.The 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri is an important component of Armenia's security, Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan says in an interview to RIA Novosti.
He recalls that it was Armenia that suggested extending the agreement on deployment of the military base in its territory. "I think it is one of the crucial phenomena in the military-political field of our cooperation and we think that the base is an important factor of restraint," he says.
Sargsyan stresses that after the extension of the agreement the base is responsible for not only the security "on the external border of the former USSR" but also for the security of Armenia in general. "The enlargement of the staff can never be an aim in itself. It should respond to a specific challenge in a specific situation", the minister says.
The 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, carries out its combat duty within the Joint CIS Air Defense System. On 20 Aug 2010 Russia and Armenia extended the agreement till 2044.