Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Alen Simonyan has hinted that some in the country viewed the Russian military base in Gyumri as a threat, while reiterating that Yerevan had not raised the issue of withdrawing it with Moscow.

The Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri was first established in the 1940s and is believed to house more than 3,000 Russian military personnel. It has served as a key Russian military presence in the South Caucasus.

The base has been the subject of several controversies over the years, including allegations involving the detention and abduction of Russian military deserters, as well as crimes committed by Russian soldiers outside the base. The most serious such incident was the 2015 killing of seven members of the same family by a Russian soldier.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Simonyan was asked whether the possible opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and the normalisation of relations would automatically mean the withdrawal of the Russian base from Armenia.

‘I don’t know whether, if [the border does not open], the presence of that military base here would have been necessary for Armenia’s security or not. There is an opinion that, on the contrary, it was a threat’, Simonyan said without elaborating on who made any comments and when.

Despite a 2022 agreement, which was intended to allow third-country citizens and diplomats to cross the land border, Turkey has kept the border closed since 1993, linking any potential opening to progress in the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process.

Simonyan went on to say that he currently did not see ‘a threat to Armenia’s sovereignty from Turkey’, adding that since the Washington Summit on 8 August 2025, ‘I do not see any threat at all, and I do not want to link the military base factor to Turkey’.

‘That is a political decision, a subject for discussion, which the Russian side has raised. The Armenian side has said that it is ready for that discussion regardless of the outcome’, Simonyan said.

He also implied that the Azerbaijani military attacks in Armenia in 2021 and 2022, as well as the final Azerbaijani offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, still took place despite ‘the existence of the base and the presence of Russian peacekeepers’.

At the same time, Simonyan emphasised the government had ‘not used the term “military base” at any meeting [with Russia]’, instead suggesting that the issue had first been raised by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a 2 September press briefing.

‘If Armenia believes that the Russian military base in Armenia is not needed, we will leave as early as tomorrow. But is Armenia ready for that? If so, please. We will not impose anything on anyone’, Putin said at the time.

Following Putin’s statement, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the Armenian side had never raised the issue. He further added that Armenia does not consider the Russian military base in Gyumri a ‘vital necessity’, while adding that Yerevan would not object if Moscow decided to withdraw it, adding: ‘but if they express a desire to remain, we are also ready to discuss that’.

Gas price  has a ‘political’ component

The issue of the base comes as tensions between Yerevan and Moscow escalate as Armenia seeks closer ties with the EU and Russia continues to enact trade restrictions on Armenian goods.

Yerevan suggested it could start charging Russia rent for the base if Moscow starts charging Armenia more for natural gas. Up until now, Moscow has paid nothing to have the base in Gyumri.

In late May, Russia reportedly sent Armenia a letter warning it could cut off the tax-free supply of gas, petroleum products, and uncut diamonds if Yerevan proceeds with its EU accession efforts.

On Thursday, Simonyan also addressed speculation about a possible increase in the price of imported Russian gas, stating that they would consider offers of gas supply from all four Armenian neighbours — Iran, Georgia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan — as well as any country which would offer to supply with gas through transit.

Asked whether Armenia would consider agreements with Russia as part of its balancing foreign policy to keep gas prices low, Simonyan rejected the idea, saying ‘Armenia has its political path and its decision’.

He said the price of gas also has a political component.

‘We are not prepared, and will no longer depend on a single pipeline, one whim, and a single pressure point, and we will pursue the process of diversifying all sectors of Armenia’s economy’, Simonyan said.

Amidst tense relations, on Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin met with Armenia’s Ambassador to Russia Gurgen Arsenyan. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, they discussed current bilateral relations and cooperation within ‘Eurasian integration organisations’, and expressed readiness for further discussions on Russian-Armenian ties.

On the same day, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Oleg Salyukov warned that if Yerevan wanted to completely reform its army to NATO standards, Armenia’s taxpayers would have to cover the cost of transitioning from Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) standards. Salyukov went on to claim that, in addition to being more expensive, NATO standards were ‘not always effective’.