Putin instructs to ink military cooperation deal with Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the government’s initiative to conduct negotiations with Armenia on reaching an agreement on development of military and technical cooperation.

According to President Putin’s decree, Russian government is instructed to sign an agreement with Armenia upon completion of the talks.

The Russian 102nd military base is deployed in the territory of Armenia in compliance with the agreement signed on March 16, 1995. The task of the base is to ensure strategic stability of the external border, protection of Russia’s interests and Armenia’s security, including through joint operative use of Russian and Armenian forces in accordance with the provisions of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) dated May 15, 1992. The divisions of the base are deployed in Gyumri and Yerevan. The total number of military men is about 3,5 thousand. The base includes three motorized infantry regiments, an artillery regiment and a tank battalion.

In June, 2011, Russia's Federation Council ratified a protocol extending the validity of the agreement signed on March 16, 1995 on deployment of the Russian military base in Armenia from 25 to 49 years /till 2044/.