Prime Minister Assures That the Replacement of Russian Border Guards Is Not Related to Preparations for Visa Regime Liberalization with the EU

ArmInfo. “We began the process of replacing the border guards long before the visa liberalization process,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told journalists during a briefing on September 17, rejecting the assertion that the reason for changing the Russian border services was preparations for visa liberalization with the EU.

He emphasized that protecting the borders with one’s own border guards is an important attribute of sovereignty. , the prime minister said.

Let us recall that the basis for the current presence of Russian border guards in Armenia is the interstate agreement on the status of Russia’s border troops on the territory of the republic, signed in Yerevan on September 30, 1992. The Border Directorate of the FSB of the Russian Federation in Armenia included four border detachments—in Gyumri, Armavir, Artashat and Meghri.

Let us recall that in February of this year it became known that Russian border guards were no longer serving at the checkpoint on the border with Turkey, while earlier they had left the checkpoint (the border with Turkey) and (the border with Iran).