The Armenian National Assembly voted 102 to 8 today to ratify the Agreement on Joint Air Defense with Russia, a bill that had stirred controversy among the public.
The concerns were connected with the fear of sharing the control of one of the most important elements of the country’s defense with a second country.
The agreement between the two countries was signed in Moscow in December 2015.
Speaking about the agreement yesterday, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyanb said “it will provide us with an opportunity to involve the fourth-generation multi-purpose fighter jets of the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia, as well as all capacities of the aerospace to solve air defense issues in the Caucasian region.”
He assured that “all capacities of the Joint Air Defense System, the aviation forces and means will be planned and used under the leadership of RA Armed Forces and the aviation.”