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Russian border guards confirm their presence in Armenia is needed — MFA

Maria Zakharova noted that really large-scale and productive interaction had been established by the border guard services, which "apparently makes some politicians in Yerevan nervous"

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. Russian border guards have repeatedly confirmed the need for their presence in Armenia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing, responding to a request for a comment on Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan's words that the Armenian authorities should give thought to the presence of Russian border guards on the border with Iran and Turkey.

"I’ve seen this piece of news and these remarks. Perhaps, Simonyan didn't follow Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's press conference closely enough. I would like to remind you that the basic document that regulates the activities of our border guards in Armenia is the bilateral agreement on the status of Russian border guards on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, and the conditions of their functioning dated September 30, 1992. Moreover, it is open-ended. For more than 30 years Russian border guards have been protecting the borders of the Republic of Armenia together with their Armenian brothers-in-arms and have repeatedly confirmed the need for their presence in Armenia. In particular, including by preventing the illegal crossing of the Armenian border and upsetting drug trafficking attempts," she said.

Zakharova noted that really large-scale and productive interaction had been established by the border guard services, which "apparently makes some politicians in Yerevan nervous."

"In our opinion, in considering the expediency of the Russian border guards' stay on Armenia’s border, we should take into account how, in general, the exposure of the border will affect the country's security in a situation where the full normalization of the situation in the region has not been achieved yet," she added.