Envoy: Armenia’s security depends on Russia, not Western promises

The security of Armenia is guaranteed by the presence of the 102nd Russian military base and Russian border guards, not by Western promises, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin stated.

"As far as I know, no one has provided Armenia with security guarantees comparable to those within Russian-Armenian relations. In any case, I have not seen any documents or statements confirming this. The key components of our security cooperation, our military-political alliance, remain intact," he said, Caliber.Az reports referring to Armenian media.

The envoy emphasized that "the Russian base is still here, the presence of our border guards has not changed in principle, and this is assessed quite positively by the Armenian leadership."

He also recalled the remarks of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, who likened Armenia’s potential accession to the European Union to buying a ticket for the Titanic. According to Kopyrkin, the current reality is Armenia's cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), while its possible future within the EU remains uncertain.

On February 12, the Armenian parliament approved a bill initiating the process of the republic’s accession to the EU.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the matter, stating that Armenia is unlikely to maintain membership in both the EAEU and the EU simultaneously. He pointed out that the EAEU operates under a unified customs space, facilitating the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital, whereas the EU follows a different regulatory framework.

Earlier, on January 9, Overchuk remarked that Armenia’s decision could be interpreted as the beginning of its departure from the EAEU.

By Tamilla Hasanova