ArmInfo. The Russian military base deployed in Armenia is the guarantor of stability in the Caucasus and is able, together with the army of this republic, to counter threats to security in the region, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday at talks with his Armenian counterpart David Tonoyan.
"The 102nd Russian military base located on the territory of Armenia, is the guarantor of stability in the Caucasus region. Today it has been inspected. The base is combat-ready and ready, together with the Armenian Armed Forces, to confront existing security threats," Shoigu said, TASS reports.
According to the Russian Defense Minister, "Armenia is an ally and key partner of Russia in the Transcaucasus." "The United Group of Forces and the Joint Regional Air Defense System of Russia and Armenia have been created and are functioning. Close cooperation between our general staffs has been organized, joint planning is being carried out," he added.
Thanking his colleague for the warm welcome, Shoigu noted that since the beginning of the year this is his third meeting with the head of the republic's military department. "This is an indisputable indicator of the high dynamics of interaction between the defense departments of our countries," the Minister said.
The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation also noted the growing pace of interaction between Moscow and Yerevan and proposed to approve a plan for bilateral military cooperation for next year, including more than 60 joint events. "We are going to continue our cooperation as intensively, without slowing down the pace. To this end, a draft plan of bilateral military cooperation for 2020 has been prepared, including more than 60 joint activities. I propose today to approve it," said Shoigu.
The Minister noted that Russia and Armenia are successfully cooperating "not only in a bilateral format, but also within the framework of international structures, primarily the CSTO."
"This year, our military contingents jointly solved combat training tasks during the CSTO Combat Brotherhood-2019 operational-strategic exercise, which was held in Russia, Belarus and Tajikistan," the Minister said.
He added that Russia continues to train highly qualified military personnel for Armenia. "At present, 248 Armenian troops are studying at 25 universities of the Russian Ministry of Defense," Shoigu said.
The Russian military base is deployed in Armenia in accordance with the 1995 interstate agreement. In 2010, the document was amended according to which the period of its stay in the territory of Armenia from the initial 25 years was extended to 49 years, until 2044.