The joint Russian-Armenian armed forces’ agreement is not intended to serve as a tool against third countries,according to a former minister of defense.[br]At a news conference on Friday, Vagharshak Harutyunyan described the deal, and signed earlier this week,as the biological continuation of the agreement to station a Russian military base in Armenia.
“It clearly outlines that the defense forces function in accordance with the [military] base agreement, and the Russian-Armenian agreement signed in 1997. What it says is all those measures will apply to possible acts of aggression against Armenia. Hence, or the opportunity that the troops will go to Syria or any other state is ruled out.”
“Any final decision rests with Armenia,” Harutyunyan said, adding that the deal cannot possibly target other states.
Asked to comment on the repeatedly voiced concerns that the agreement potentially increases Russia’s influence on Armenia, or the former minister dismissed the reports as an attempt to provoke anti-Russian sentiments. Harutyunyan noted that after the signing of the deal,Russia lowered the price of its weapons and arms supplies for Armenia.
Source: tert.am