Armenia has officially requested Moscow to withdraw Russian border troops from Zvartnots international airport in the capital as Yerevan seeks to distance itself from Moscow amid deteriorating relations.
“Armenia has a clear position in this matter. The Russian Federation was informed via an official letter about that clear position,” Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigorian told reporters on March 6, adding that according to Yerevan’s position, the airport must be served solely by Armenian border troops.
Armenia has been distancing itself from its traditional ally Russia in recent months while at the same time moving closer to the West. Yerevan previously has brought up the subject of the airport but Grigorian’s comments on March 6 are the first time Armenia has officially made the request.
“The acquisition of military equipment with Russia has dropped from 96 percent to less than 10 percent. This means that Armenia is implementing a diversification policy that requires partners not only in the West, but also in Asia and in other different directions. Big changes are taking place. Armenia is diversifying its economy and security,” Grigorian added.
The presence of Russian border guards at the airport, a practice spanning decades, has become a symbol of Armenia’s long-standing alignment with Moscow. However, the latest developments suggest a significant recalibration of this relationship. The Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan’s government, has shown a willingness to redefine its military and political ties with Russia, recently suspending Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and openly questioning its efficacy in ensuring Armenia’s security.
Armenian authorities have accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 of failing to prevent Azerbaijan’s swift offensive last September, which resulted in Baku regaining control over the breakaway region that had been under ethnic Armenian control for three decades.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has previously said that no official decisions regarding the withdrawal of Russian border guards from Zvartnots had been taken because Moscow had not “officially” received such a request.
Grigorian’s statement comes less than two weeks after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in an interview with the France 24 television channel that his country had frozen its membership in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), accusing Moscow of calling on Armenian citizens to overthrow his government.
Moscow rejected the accusations, stating its troops lacked a mandate to intervene and accusing Pashinian of enabling the collapse of separatist rule in the region by acknowledging Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over it.
Pashinian declined to attend the CSTO’s summit in Minsk in November and said in a televised Q&A session then that any decision about Yerevan’s continued membership in the group — which also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan — would be based on Armenia’s “own state interests.”
Relevant articles:
– Armenia Officially Asks Moscow To Remove Russian Border Troops From Yerevan Airport