Withdrawal of Russian military base from Armenia not on the agenda, envoy says

The issue of closing the Russian military base in Gyumri is not on the table in Armenia, Russian Ambassador to Yerevan Sergey Kopyrkin said in an interview with Russian media, according to Caliber.Az.

Asked if there were any signals from the Armenian authorities regarding the closure of the Russian base and the withdrawal of Russian border guards, Kopyrkin said, "I am guided by the official statements of the Armenian side, in particular, that there is no question of the base's withdrawal".

The ambassador said he was not aware of any such signals.

No such signals have been received by Moscow either, he stressed.

On January 10, the TASS news agency quoted a source as saying that Germany was offering financial aid to Armenia for the withdrawal of Russian border guards from the country's territory and other measures against Russia.

In December, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that any discussion of a Russian military base in Armenia would be inappropriate.