ArmInfo.On the issue of placing a Russian military base in Armenia, Moscow proceeds from the relevant agreements, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated while answering the question whether the Russian side expects negative steps from Yerevan regarding the future of the Russian military base in Armenia.
"We still proceed from our agreements recorded on paper. Secondly, we will specifically respond to all specific steps, and assume what could happen: analysts do this. We give comments on current, already accomplished events or those that which definitely need to happen. If we talk about the Russian position, it is recorded in the relevant documents, it is legally formalized," Zakharova noted.
Regarding the advisability of the continued presence of Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh against the backdrop of the exodus of its Armenian population, Zakharova recalled that the duration of the RMK's stay in Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed in the relevant documents and will be discussed jointly with colleagues. "If you are talking about the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, then together with the Azerbaijani side, taking into account the situation on the ground," she said.
Let us note that last week, especially in the Russian segment of social networks, information was circulated that allegedly the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan would bill Russia for the presence of a base in Gyumri, and even direct quotes were given from the words of the RA Prime Minister: "We are not in that condition "To throw earth around. In the near future we will send an invoice to the Russian Foreign Ministry to pay for the deployment of troops in our country."
Taking into account the sensitivity of this topic and the existence of an official agreement on the conditions for the presence of a Russian military base on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, ArmInfo sent a request to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia with a request to confirm or refute these statements.
The official response received by ArmInfo today, in particular, says: "In response to your question, we inform you that such statements were not made by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan."