By Alexander Pracht
Russian border guards withdrew from Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport Wednesday, putting an end to the Kremlin’s more than three-decade security presence at Armenia’s main international airport.
Speaking at a handover ceremony in the airport’s passenger terminal, the newly appointed head of Armenia’s Border Guard Troops personally thanked staff from Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, for their work.
“We will continue to apply the experience and skills passed on by Russian border guards over 32 years of joint service,” Edgar Hunanyan said alongside Roman Golubitsky, who headed the Russian guards.
What’s the background?
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Vladimir Putin of Russia agreed to remove Russian border guards from Zvartnots, as well as from Armenia’s undelimited border with Azerbaijan, at a meeting in Moscow in May.
Russia had deployed troops to the border with Azerbaijan after Armenia’s devastating loss in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. While no deadline has been given publicly for Russia to withdraw from the border with Azerbaijan, Syunik Governor Robert Ghukasyan confirmed in early June that Russian guards had already left their positions near the flashpoint village of Nerkin Hand. But, Ghukasyan conceded, it would take the FSB some time to pull out entirely.
Russia also has guards stationed along Armenia’s borders with Iran and Turkey, but unlike those deployments, the presence of Russian troops along the border with Azerbaijan was part of a handshake deal, and not regulated by any formal agreement.
There are no indications Russia will withdraw from the Iran and Turkey borders any time soon, at least according to senior Russian officials, including Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and FSB director Alexander Bortnikov. The Kremlin also maintains a military base in Armenia’s second city, Gyumri, in the northwest of the country, and at the Erebuni air base outside of Yerevan.
What’s the context?
Since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, relations between Armenia and Russia, its traditional security guarantor, have frayed significantly, with anger and frustration mounting in Yerevan over what is seen as Moscow’s unwillingness or inability to honor its security commitments in the region.
In addition, Russia’s withdrawal from Zvartnots comes as the role of Armenia’s Border Guard Troops in the country’s security structure is growing rapidly. For years, they played a largely symbolic role, with Armenia’s military protecting the country’s frontier with Azerbaijan and Russian guards watching over the borders with Iran and Turkey.
But now, Armenia’s border guards are set to take charge of one of the most-discussed sections of Armenia’s borders: the recently delimited section separating Armenia’s northeastern Tavush region and Azerbaijan’s northwestern Gazakh district.
According to a delimitation agreement reached in April, Armenia and Azerbaijan are meant to replace military personnel along that section of the border with guards. That is expected to empower Hunanyan and his subordinates to play a pivotal role in further border negotiations, as well as in efforts to maintain border security.
The Border Guard Troops are part of Armenia’s National Security Service, a law enforcement agency that was widely believed to be close to Russia’s FSB prior to the 2018 revolution that catapulted Pashinyan to power. Until now, the NSS had only fully controlled Armenia’s border with Georgia.
Now, the NSS will need to perform duties previously carried out by Russian border guards and the Armenian military, as well as to establish effective cooperation with the European Union’s monitoring mission, which observes the border.
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