Armenia has likewise received no request or notification from Russia concerning the withdrawal of the 102nd Military Base, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Vahagn Aleksanyan said, commenting on Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin’s statement that Moscow had received no Armenian request to withdraw the Russian military base.
He added that if Russia wants to withdraw its military base from Armenia, it should announce that intention, 1lurer.am reports.
In this context, a journalist asked whether Armenia was planning to formally approach Moscow about withdrawing the 102nd Military Base from Armenian territory.
“As far as I am aware, Armenia — specifically the Defense Ministry or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, as well as parliament — has not received any request, notice or communication from Russia saying that Russia intends to withdraw the military base.
“If they want to withdraw the military base, that can be discussed. We have not received such a request from them either. I do not know whether they are going to submit one in the near future. The issue is this: if they want to withdraw the military base, they should announce it; if they do not want to withdraw the military base, that is a matter for discussion,” the National Assembly deputy speaker said, adding that maintaining the military base is in fact costly for Armenia, but the matter remains subject to discussion.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said Moscow had received no request from the Armenian side concerning the withdrawal of the Russian military base stationed in Gyumri.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if the Armenian people wished, Russia was prepared to maintain its presence at the Gyumri military base for further work and cooperation. At the same time, he said that if Yerevan no longer saw a need for it, the Russian military contingent could “leave as early as tomorrow.”
Pashinyan said there had been no discussion concerning the Russian military base stationed in Armenia during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek. He said the presence of the 102nd Military Base on Armenian territory was not a vital necessity.
