In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Nikol Pashinyan, the leader of Armenia, stated that Yerevan does not believe a Russian military base is necessary in Armenia’s territory. However, he emphasized that the withdrawal of Russian troops is not currently being discussed. Russian officials have been actively discussing this topic recently, referring to the 1995 agreement between Russia and Armenia. According to this agreement, if one party announces the cancellation of the agreement, the resolution of the Russian military’s presence will be resolved through bilateral negotiations. The presence of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri is expected to continue until 2044, as per the agreement signed by the presidents of Russia and Armenia in 2010, Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan.

In a meeting with “Ezvestia,” Yuri Khachatryan, chairman of the Defense Committee of the RA National Assembly, confirmed the terms of the agreement. He stated that the deadline for the completion of final measures after the active phase has been extended by five years, as stated in the agreement between the Russian Defense Ministry and the Republic of Armenia. However, if one party does not notify the other party of the termination of this measure at least six months prior to the expiration of the period, the document will be automatically extended. For more detailed information, please refer to today’s newspaper, News from Armenia-NEWS.am.