Russian MFA criticises Armenian Parliament speaker over border security remarks

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova advised Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan to think about how the “denuding” of the republic's border will affect its security in the absence of full normalisation of the situation in the region, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Earlier, Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Alen Simonyan stated that the possible transfer of future communications between Nakhchivan and the western regions of Azerbaijan through Zangezur to a private company would not violate Armenia's sovereignty, as everything would be carried out “under the flag and within the framework of the laws of the Republic of Armenia”.

As an example, he pointed to the presence of Russian border guards on Armenia's borders with Iran and Türkiye, noting that “we have something to think about in this matter as well”.

“In our opinion, if one were to ponder the expediency of Russian border guards staying on the republic's borders, one should take into account how the denudation of the border will affect the country's security in the absence of full normalisation (of the situation - ed.) in the region,” the Russian diplomat said at a briefing commenting on Simonyan's statement.

Zakharova recalled that the activity of the border guards is regulated by the 1992 bilateral agreement on the status of the Russian border troops and their functioning on the territory of Armenia.

She added that the document has an indefinite character and Russian border guards have been guarding Armenia's borders for more than 30 years, preventing illegal crossings of the Armenian border and drug trafficking attempts.

“Large-scale and productive co-operation has been established along the border services, which apparently makes some politicians in Yerevan nervous,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson remarked.

Zakharova also advised those who do not specialise in this topic but freely express their point of view on this or that topic to give the floor to those who put their lives on the line.

“Those who are really guarding Armenia's border, not sitting in soft armchairs, but with weapons in their hands... Maybe they will say their word,” she concluded.