Russia completed on Wednesday the withdrawal of its border guards from Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport which was demanded by Armenia earlier this year amid mounting tensions between the two estranged allies.
Russian border guards have for decades been stationed at Zvartnots as well as along Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran as part of close Russian-Armenian military ties. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced in March that his government has given Moscow until August 1 to remove them from the airport. He said Armenia has the capacity to carry out border controls there “without the help of the Russian side.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the move, saying that Yerevan risks inflicting “irreparable damage” on Russian-Armenian relations and jeopardizing Armenia’s security and economic development. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pashinian agreed on the withdrawal when they met in Moscow in May.
The process was completed with a farewell ceremony held for the few dozen officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) at Zvartnots. The newly appointed commander of Armenian border troops, Edgar Hunanian, thanked them for their service in a speech at the ceremony. He said the Armenian side will use the “experience and skills of Russian border guards passed on during more than 32 years of joint service.”
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“Your not always noticeable but very necessary work has made a significant contribution to the security of both Armenia and Russia,” the Russian charge d’affaires in Yerevan, Maksim Seleznyov, said for his part.
At his May meeting with Pashinian, Putin also agreed to pull back Russia troops and border guards from Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. They had been deployed there at Yerevan’s request during and after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The border guards will continue to protect Armenia’s borders with Iran and Turkey.
Russia also has a military base in the South Caucasus country. In March, a senior Russian lawmaker said he “would not recommend that the Armenian authorities even think about” demanding an end to the Russian military presence.
Pashinian has signaled no such plans so far. Still, he has frozen his country’s membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization and not ruled out a bid to join the European Union.