Deployment of Russian Border Guards in Other Areas of Tavush Not Excluded, MP Says

The deployment of Russian border guards in Vahking is being carried out to ensure the border security of the Republic of Armenia. This was stated by Arthur Hovhannisyan, a member of the 'Civil Contract' faction in the National Assembly, in an interview with Public Television.

According to him, Azerbaijan is pursuing a destructive policy, engaging in provocations, and their troops have been on the sovereign territory of Armenia for a long time. 'Based on this logic, the border guards have been deployed in collaboration with our partner, and it is not excluded that the deployment of border guards in other areas of Tavush will occur in the near future,' said the ruling party MP.

When asked on what legal and contractual basis Russian border guards are being deployed in Tavush and whether it relates to the 1997 Armenian-Russian agreement, the ruling faction member stated that there cannot be shadow contracts or agreements that the public is unaware of. 'If there is a new agreement in Armenian-Russian relations, everyone will know about it. This is evidenced by the fact that the Prime Minister has publicly proposed the deployment of border guards along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The deployment of these guards is a guarantee for ensuring the security of Armenia's borders,' Hovhannisyan stated.

The ruling MP noted that the Azerbaijani side's policy is destructive, and he does not know how this will be responded to in Baku. 'Azerbaijan does everything to undermine the peace agenda—constantly talking about corridors—while we have repeatedly stated that there is no such thing, and the Azerbaijani troops must leave the territory of Armenia for the effective implementation of delimitation and demarcation work. Thus, potential responses from the Azerbaijani side under conditions of destructiveness are unpredictable,' the MP added.