Armenia Joins CIS Agreement with One Reservation

The Republic of Armenia has decided to join the CIS agreement on the use and further improvement of military satellite communication systems. The proposal for ratification of the agreement was presented today at a regular session of the National Assembly by Deputy Minister of Defense Arman Sargsyan.

According to him, by joining the agreement, Armenia will gain the right to use resources from Russian military space devices. “The agreements in the field of using the capacity resources of Russian military space devices, including provision of military-technical assistance, will be defined through bilateral agreements signed between the defense ministries of the Russian Federation and Armenia, as well as other participant states of the agreement,” said Sargsyan.

The Deputy Minister of Defense particularly emphasized that Armenia is ratifying the agreement with one reservation. “The Republic of Armenia will make a separate decision regarding the application of the provisions of the agreement to those states that join this agreement,” he noted.

The then Minister of Defense of Armenia, David Tonoyan, did not sign the agreement, allegedly due to concerns regarding the use of the same system by Azerbaijan. The agreement came into force on January 1, 2020. It has been signed by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, while Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Moldova have not signed it. The Armenian government approved the agreement during its session on February 23 of this year, after which it was submitted to the parliament for ratification.