Yerevan Has Requested the Russian Side: A Decision Has Been Made, Bortnikov

Yerevan has approached the Russian side, requesting the withdrawal of temporary operational groups of the Russian border guards. This decision was announced on Tuesday by Alexander Bortnikov, the candidate for the head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

“Considering the recent changes in the territory of Armenia and the presence of the Armenian leader in Moscow for a meeting with our country's President Putin, the Armenian side has requested the removal of the temporary operational groups from the demarcation line, thereby addressing the issue of presence in the areas that have not been legally determined,” Bortnikov stated during a plenary session of the Federation Council.

He noted that initially, after the trilateral statement on the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh (2020), Armenia had requested support and deployment of FSB border units along the demarcation line with Azerbaijan. At that time, Russia published 11 notes addressing the issues of information cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the resolution of local conflicts.