Civil Contract: Armenia`s main air hubs border control should be  carried out by representatives of RA state bodies

ArmInfo. The issue of the presence of Russian border guards at Zvartnots airport causes the  same concern among our political team as it does among the public. Secretary of the ruling Civil Contract party Artur Hovhannisyan stated  during a briefing on March 1.

He stressed that this issue is on the agenda of the ruling party. "So  far, no decisions have been made in this regard, but we will present  the results of the discussions to the public in an institutional  manner," said the Secretary of the Civil Contract.

In turn, pro-government MP Vladimir Vardanyan, when asked whether  there is a legal basis for the presence of Russian border guards at  the air gates of Armenia, noted that there is a broad legal framework  between Armenia and Russia, but there may not be specifics in certain  cases, which "would allow us to find answers to this or that  question."

According to him, "Zvartnots" airport is considered as a border point  from a legal point of view, but in fact is not the border of the  Republic of Armenia. "And in these conditions there is a need for  separate regulations," the  MP said.

Summarizing, he stated that the border control of the main air hubs  of Armenia should be carried out by the representatives of the state  bodies of the Republic of Armenia. "I think everyone shares this  opinion," Vardanyan emphasized.

Recently, the issue of the illegality of the presence of Russian   border guards in the territory of Armenia, including at the  "Zvartnots" international airport, began to spread with some   frequency in the Armenian part of social networks.

Initially, a large text on this topic was published on the website of   the "Union of Informed Citizens" NGO authored by Ruzanna Avagimyan,   who assures that according to paragraph 5 of the Declaration of   Independence, military units of other countries, their military bases   and structures, can only be located on the territory of the Republic   of Armenia by decision of its Supreme Council (Parliament - Ed.   note).  Then, this information, with a certain frequency, is scrolled   on different Armenian telegram channels. It is emphasized that the   Armenian parliament has never ratified the agreement on Russian   border troops on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, which   means that the activities of Russian border guards not only on the   Armenian-Iranian border and on the Armenian-Turkish border, but also    at Zvartnots airport ", is illegal, and the latter do not have the   right, instead of the border troops of the National Security Service   of Armenia, to check and issue passports of citizens crossing the   state border of the Republic of Armenia.

The basis for the current presence of Russian border guards in   Armenia is the interstate agreement on the status of Russian border   troops on the territory of the republic, concluded in Yerevan on   September 30, 1992. The border department of the FSS of the Russian   Federation in Armenia includes 4 border detachments - in Gyumri,   Armavir, Artashat and Meghri , as well as a separate checkpoint at   Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport. The maintenance of Russian   border guards in Armenia is provided approximately equally by the   governments of the two states.