Yerevan website sees no need for Russia's 102nd base in Armenia

"Why is the 102nd Russian base in Gyumri needed if the Russian-Turkish 'trilateral' statements are unconditionally implemented? Especially if they are not fulfilled?"

Armenian journalists of the local Lragir website ask these questions, Caliber.Az reports.

"Armenians who claim that the Russian military base protects their country no longer believe it. What good can a small base do against a Turkish army armed with Western weapons? In comparison to their Western counterparts, Russian conventional weapons are only capable of destroying residential buildings, as demonstrated by the Ukrainian war. Furthermore, the personnel displayed examples of looting, murder, and other inhumane actions in Ukraine. The Gyumri base was mentioned in the Armenian press on several occasions in connection with similar actions, the culmination of which was the demonstrative murder of an Armenian family in Gyumri by a soldier from the Russian base. The murder's demonstrativeness was explained by the fact that the Kremlin then conducted a special operation to extradite its killer from Armenia, humiliating the Armenians.

This story marked the start of the Kremlin's 'new political course', which in the case of Armenia resulted in forced accession to the EAEU, the 2015-2016 aggression, and the fall 2020 military campaign. Russia, along with Türkiye, continues to make steady progress toward its goal of eradicating Armenian statehood - until its inevitable retreat. We have repeatedly addressed the political, and civilisational reasons for such a policy.

What functions does and will the Russian base in Gyumri perform under these circumstances? Without going into specifics, it will serve the same purposes as the Russian-Turkish centre in Aghdam and the Russian "peacekeeping" contingent in Karabakh. That is, to ensure movement control and disarmament of Armenian forces, a "simplified regime" on roads, and the implementation of other Russian-Turkish agreements.

The Gyumri base and the Russian army of the 'Permyakovs' pose a direct threat to Armenia amidst Russia's retreat from the Caucasus and the forcing of [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov's five-year plan to surrender Armenia to the Turks. The failure of the 'Permyakovs' in Ukraine makes it necessary to accelerate plans in Armenia in the hope of receiving indirect geopolitical compensation from the Turks. The Putin-Erdogan Pact in Sochi is evidence of this. The demand for the withdrawal of the Russian base from Gyumri must be urgently formulated," the Armenian website writes.