Armenia announced the possibility of revising the fee for the presence of the Russian military base.
The Russian military base did not fulfill the mission for which it was deployed in the country. Armenia may increase the fee for the base's presence in Gyumri if Russian gas prices rise, said the chairman of the parliamentary commission on defense and security, Vilen Gabrielyan.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", if Russia decides to withdraw the 102nd military base, Armenia will not object, as its presence is not a vital necessity, said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's words that Russia is ready to leave the Armenian Gyumri if Yerevan believes that the Russian military base is not needed there. In the event of the withdrawal of the Russian military base located in Gyumri, Armenia will face issues of security and border protection and the collapse of the economic model established in Gyumri, where the military base provides about 15,000 jobs, Russian politicians and representatives of Armenian opposition parties are convinced.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan, called on the Armenian Prime Minister to determine as soon as possible on the issue of Armenia's accession to the EU. Pashinyan responded that the right moment for this has not yet arrived.
Armenia may increase the fee for the presence of the Russian 102nd military base if Russian gas prices rise, said in an interview with Factor.Am the chairman of the permanent commission of the National Assembly on defense and security, a deputy of the "Civil Contract" faction, Vilen Gabrielyan.
Commenting on the possibility of withdrawing the Russian base from Armenia, Gabrielyan stated that the base, in his assessment, did not fulfill the mission for which it was deployed in the country.
"We justify this by the fact that, in fact, within the framework of the mission for which the 102nd military base was deployed in the Republic of Armenia, the base did not fulfill its mission. In particular, it has been repeatedly pointed out regarding the events of 2021 and 2022, when the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia was attacked," he said.
In Gabrielyan's opinion, the withdrawal of the base will not negatively affect Armenia's security.
In response to the question of whether Yerevan can itself turn to Moscow regarding the withdrawal of the base, the deputy noted that such a development of events in the future cannot be ruled out.
Gabrielyan also commented on the recent statement by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that if Russia raises the price of gas, Armenia may also "raise the price" on certain things. When asked if this could refer to the fee for the presence of the Russian military base, the deputy answered affirmatively.
"My personal opinion is yes, such a recalculation in financial terms, as you say, can also occur within the framework of the base, because, as we know, the territory and maintenance are mostly at the expense of the Republic of Armenia," he stated.