Armenia takes a new step towards emancipating itself from Russian domination. This former Soviet republic in the Caucasus will gradually ensure the security of its borders with Iran and Turkey, which have been guarded exclusively by Russian troops for more than thirty years. An agreement announced on October 8 by the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinian, and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, provides for the withdrawal, as of October 1is January 2025, Russian border guards at a checkpoint on the border with Iran.
“The Russians are not going to leave the Iranian border, however, specifies Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, Yerevan. Only this checkpoint will pass into the hands of the Armenian border guards. » The agreement also provides that Yerevan troops will participate in monitoring the border with Turkey alongside Russian forces, already present.
Strategic disengagement for Russia
“This is an important step for Armenia, says the researcher. The country regains its sovereignty and reaffirms its independence from Russia by gradually taking control of its borders for the first time since the Soviet Union. » The presence of Russian border guards along Iran and Turkey was established by an agreement in 1992, a year after the fall of the USSR.
For Russia, this partial disengagement from the border is also strategic. “In exchange, continues Richard Giragosian, Yerevan should allow Moscow to participate in operations to establish roads and railways aimed at connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan”an Azerbaijani exclave located in the southwest of Armenia to which Baku wants land access. Before the invasion of Ukraine, “Russia established its power by force [dans la région], whereas today, it is through greater connectivity [les liaisons de transport]».
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On July 31, Russian border guards had already withdrawn from Zvartnots international airport in Yerevan, after thirty-two years of presence. Armenia had informed Moscow that these units were no longer needed and that the Armenian National Security Service would carry out border controls independently, without Russian help. Russia, Armenia’s traditional ally, had warned the Armenian government against the risk of causing “irreparable damage” to their relations, already tense, but an agreement was finally reached in May for the withdrawal of these border guards before 1is august.
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