Armenia links Russian base fee to potential gas price increase

Armenia may reconsider the fee it pays for the deployment of Russia’s 102nd military base in Gyumri if Moscow raises the price of gas supplied to the country, Vilen Gabrielyan, head of the Armenian parliament’s Defence and Security Committee, said.

Gabrielyan, a lawmaker from Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party, said a higher payment for the Russian military base would not be the only instrument available to Yerevan if the terms of Russian gas supplies were changed.

Russia’s 102nd military base has been stationed in Armenia under a 1995 interstate agreement between Moscow and Yerevan.

The two countries extended the agreement governing the base’s deployment on Aug. 20, 2010, with the arrangement now set to remain in force until 2044.

By Tamilla Hasanova