Armenian MP denies Russia boosting military presence

Arminfo
8 Jun 05

YEREVAN

Armenia and Russia have not signed an agreement on increasing the
staff of the Russian military bases in Armenia, and therefore, all
talk about the relocation of the Russian military bases from Georgia
to Armenia is groundless, Mger Shakhgeldyan, chairman of the defence,
national security and internal affairs commission of the Armenian
National Assembly, has said in a conversation with our Arminfo
correspondent.

He pointed out that the issue of expanding Russia’s military presence
in Armenia is not on the agenda of Russian-Armenian relations, the
talk is only about replacing worn-out military hardware at the Russian
bases in Armenia with new hardware from the military bases in Georgia.

“All these actions are being taken within the framework of the
Armenian-Russian agreement on military cooperation. At the current
stage, Russia’s military presence in Armenia is reasonably
sufficient,” the chairman of the commission stressed.

Shakhgeldyan stressed that the presence of Russian military bases in
Armenia is a major component of the regional security system. At the
same time, Armenia is an independent state that is setting up its own
security system in cooperation with NATO and the European Union.

Armenia is also interested in setting up a unified regional security
system and in signing a security pact in the South Caucasus,
Shakhgeldyan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress