Russian Military Presence in Armenia Is Not Eternal, Says MP from Civil Contract Party

The military presence of Russia in Armenia is a policy adopted by the leaders of the 1990s, where Russian presence was seen as a lifeline without which the Armenian people would face an existential crisis, particularly regarding Turkey. This was stated by Gurgen Arsenyan, a member of the Civil Contract party, in an interview with News.am.

According to Arsenyan, the Russian military presence in Armenia was not aimed at the defense of Armenia, but rather was a threat directed against Turkey. “Turkey has never threatened us; we do not have such facts in our independent history. If the Russian military presence is absent in Armenia, it will be a country that poses no danger, including for Turkey, and we will become a neighboring country that poses no threats, just as we currently pose no threat to Georgia and Iran. Our society will politically mature and understand that it must be part of the same regional algorithms, where no one should threaten anyone, and there should be cooperation,” Arsenyan emphasized.

He noted that the Armenian army is responsible for the country’s security issues. The Armenian Armed Forces are our primary security component, while the Russian presence is a secondary or tertiary element. “Even during the 44-day war, we saw that there was no Russian involvement. The solution was found, and what happened has led us to think about making changes. The Russian political mindset is undergoing transformation, as indicated by the Russian-Ukrainian war. Their perceptions of their mission and neighboring countries are slowly changing and are already changing. The military presence of Russia in Armenia was a result of the civilizational perceptions that existed in the early years of the establishment of statehood. The military presence of Russia in Armenia is not eternal. Armenia is working on normalizing relations with its neighbors, ensuring further possible developments of friendly relations, as a result of which the Russian military presence as a security guarantee will become insignificant, and it will no longer be the number one barrier against threats. It is a matter of time, and that time is approaching,” Arsenyan concluded.