Vilen Gabrielyan, chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense and Security and a lawmaker from the Civil Contract faction, has said the Russian military base failed to fulfill its mission and did not rule out a possible increase in its rent.
“In fact, regarding the mission for which the 102nd military base was deployed in Armenia, the reality is that the base has not fulfilled its mission. In particular, the events of 2021 and 2022 have repeatedly been cited, when the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia came under attack. That is what the agreement says. It is obliged to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and, jointly with the Republic of Armenia, the interests of the Republic of Armenia,” he said, according to Factor.am .
According to him, withdrawal of the military base would not negatively affect Armenia’s security, because it has failed to fulfill its obligations.
Asked whether Armenia could potentially demand that Russia withdraw the base, Gabrielyan said: “I think nothing can be ruled out in the future. Within the framework of relations between the two states, this is also within our rights, because under the agreement the military base can be withdrawn from the Republic of Armenia at the request of either party.”
Addressing the prime minister’s suggestion that Armenia could also make certain things “more expensive” if gas prices rise, Gabrielyan confirmed that this could also refer to an increase in the military base’s rent.
“Why not? Yes. That is also my personal view,” he said.
Speaking about opposition warnings concerning Tigranashen (Kyarki), the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense and Security drew parallels with the border delimitation process in Tavush.
“What our opposition colleagues are currently doing under the slogan of Tigranashen is the same thing they did during the Kirants process. What do we have as a result? We have a delimited section of the border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, where people live peacefully and Armenian citizens living there feel safe. The authorities must address those risks and problems so that people can use those pastures. As for those territories of the Republic of Armenia that are currently under incursion, the relevant delimitation commissions have regulations, and there is a location from which the process must begin — from the north. Starting there, we must proceed until we reach the areas where the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have currently intruded,” he said.
Vilen Gabrielyan also expressed the view that border guard troops should be part of the Armed Forces.
“I think the border guard troops should be more integrated into the Armed Forces system, and I believe that in the future, in my view, we will eventually reach that point, because the fact is that, following the well-known events, we essentially restarted the reorganization and formation of our border guard troops,” he added.
Addressing deaths in the army under non-combat conditions, he said the problem was systemic and multilayered.
“I agree with you. I do not think it is exclusively a psychological issue. It is also a physical issue, a physiological issue and a technical issue, and yes, we need to sit down, analyze it and understand how we can overcome the existing problems. There is a problem here, but we should not project it onto the entire Defense Ministry and all cases. These are different cases, individual cases,” the lawmaker said.
Speaking about the publication of the report by the commission investigating the 44-day war, Vilen Gabrielyan said: “If the ruling force had wanted not to publish the report, it would not have fulfilled the public demand to establish an investigative commission in the first place. Secondly, it would not have held a certain and highly important part of the commission’s sessions openly and live. I have publicly stated that there is no issue that should effectively be treated in a way that undermines our public’s right to be informed. I think we have encountered this problem because of an incorrect interpretation of the law.”
He added that work is currently underway to amend the relevant legislation to avoid similar problems in the future, but noted that the change would not apply retroactively to the report on the 44-day war. “This is not specifically about this report; it concerns the establishment and operation of investigative commissions themselves.”
