ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 4, 2005 Friday

Armenia commander on cooperation with Russia border guards

MOSCOW

The commander of the Armenian National Security Service’s border
troops said on Friday that cooperation between the border guards of
Armenia and Russia should continue after Russian border guards
completed their mission in Armenia and transferred the sections they
had protected to Armenian border guards.

Colonel Vyacheslav Voskanyan expressed satisfaction over cooperation
between the border guards of the two states. In an interview with the
Russian newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, he said cooperation “is important
from the point of view of joint fight against present-day threats to
the humankind as well as for maintaining and strengthening of
fraternal relations”.

“Cooperation between the border guards of our two states is at its
best,” the colonel stressed. “It is based on friendship and mutual
assistance in all spheres of activity. We have a common task – to
ensure security of Russia and Armenia,” the military specialist
added.

He reminded the readers that Armenia is one of the few former Soviet
republics, which has not rejected Russia’s help in border protection.
In line with an agreement signed between Moscow and Yerevan on
September 30, 1992, Russian border guards protect the Turkish and
part of the Iranian border section of the Armenian state border, as
well as maintain border control at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport. All
in all, Russian border guards control 400 kilometers of the Armenian
border.

Sources from the FSB border service told Itar-Tass on Friday that any
amendments to the treaty on the status of Russian border troops in
Armenia and terms of their functioning could be introduced through
the two countries’ foreign ministries. So far, Yerevan has made no
official offers concerning the term of the stationing of Russian
border guards in Armenia.

In case Russian border guards pulled out from Armenia at the request
of that country, groups of inspectors and instructors could be set up
as one of the variants of cooperation. They could assist Armenia in
the strengthening of its border service, the sources said.