YEREVAN, June 4. /TASS/. Moscow has increased the number of Russian border troops deployed to Armenia in accordance with its alliance obligations, Russian Ambassador to Yerevan Sergey Kopyrkin said at a meeting with Governor of Armenia’s Sinyuk region Melikset Pogosyan, the Russian embassy said in a statement on Friday.
"The parties discussed the situation in Armenia’s southernmost region, including its border districts. The diplomatic mission’s chief pointed out that Russia significantly contributed to ensuring Armenia’s security under its alliance obligations. In particular, the number of Russia’s border troops has been increased, extensive material and financial resources have been allocated to ensure their activities," the statement reads.
The governor thanked Russia "for ending the bloodshed in the fall of 2020 and making an invaluable contribution to the post-conflict reconstruction, and commended the efforts of Russian border troops deployed to the region."
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has remained tense since May 12, when the Armenian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces had attempted to carry out "certain activities" in the Syunik Province’s border district. The ministry added that the Azerbaijani troops halted their activities following some steps taken by Armenian forces.
On May 27, Azerbaijan said that six Armenian troops had been captured when trying to cross the two countries’ border to carry out a subversive activity. Armenia confirmed the capture, adding, however, that the troops had been engaged in engineering works in a border district of the country’s Gegharkunik Province.
Yerevan later said that it had contacted the Collective Security Treaty Organization with regard to border tensions. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in turn, put forward a plan to ease tensions, which calls on the parties to withdraw troops and launch a border demarcation process with the Minsk Group’s assistance. Several sources confirmed to TASS on June 2 that Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia had held consultations in Moscow, discussing ways to ease tensions in certain border regions of Armenia and Azerbaijan.