YEREVAN, June 13. /TASS/. Closer security cooperation with Russia is a priority for Armenia, acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech broadcast on his Facebook on Sunday.
"I want to present my vision of our country’s security. In order to ensure security, it is very important to further deepen relations between Armenia and Russia," the acting prime minister said in the town of Yeghvard in the Kotyak province in central Armenia.
"We will continue developing and strengthening strategic partnership with Russia, which is our number one partner in the security sphere. Today we are in constant contact with our Russian partners for solving the problem in the Sotk-Khoznavar border section [with Azerbaijan]," he noted.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10.
Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides maintained the positions that they had held, seven districts passed over to Baku’s control and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line and the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani border was moved close to Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces. The situation in that area aggravated on May 12 when Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported that Azerbaijani forces had attempted to carry out "certain activities" in one of the Syunik border region’s districts to "adjust the border," moving 3.5 kilometers into the country. The ministry added that the Azerbaijani troops halted their activities following some steps taken by Armenian forces.
Acting Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan has come up with a proposal that Armenia and Azerbaijan withdraw their troops from the border at the Sotk-Khoznavar section in the Gegharkunik province and Russian border guards be deployed there.
Pashinyan also stated that Armenia and Russia were discussing expanding the capabilities of the Russian 102nd military base in the republic and creating the base’s branch in the Syunik province.
