Protocol on Russian military base deployment extension in Armenia submitted to Medvedev

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Russian government has approved and submitted to President Medvedev’s consideration a protocol on amendments to 1995 bilateral agreement on Russian military base deployment in Guymri. Extension of document term in mentioned in the protocol.

The Protocol was signed in Yerevan in August 2010. The 1995 agreement term was set at 25 years, while the new document extends it for 49 years (starting from 1995).

The protocol stipulates for automatic extension of agreement term for further periods of 5 years, unless stated otherwise by agreement parties, RIA Novosti reported.

The Russian 102nd Military Base is a Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, part of the Transcaucasian Group of Forces. It was formerly the Soviet Army's 127th Motor Rifle Division of the Soviet Seventh Guards Army. The base is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

By the mid-late 1990s the composition of the 127th Motor Rifle Division had changed, following the departure of the majority of the Soviet forces from Armenia. It consisted of the 123rd, 124th, and 128th Motor Rifle Regiments, the 992nd Artillery Regiment, and the 116th Independent Tank Battalion. The 123rd Motor Rifle Regiment was formed from the former 164th Motor Rifle Division, also stationed in Armenia.

There are 3,000 Russian soldiers officially reported to be stationed at the 102nd Military Base located in Gyumri. In early 2005, the 102nd Military Base had 74 tanks, 17 infantry fighting vehicles, 148 armored personnel carriers, 84 artillery pieces, 18 MiG-29 fighters and several batteries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. A great deal of military hardware has been moved to the 102nd Base from the Russian 12th Military Base in Batumi and the Russian 62nd Military Base in Akhalkalaki, Georgia which includes 35 tanks and armored vehicles and 370 pieces of military hardware. The military base is part of a joint air defense system of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which was deployed in Armenia in 1995. Furthermore, the Armenian Air Force relies partially upon the Russian MiG-29s located at the military base, for the defense of Armenia's airspace.

In 1997, Armenia and Russia signed a far-reaching friendship treaty, which calls for mutual assistance in the event of a military threat to either party and allows Russian border guards to patrol Armenia’s frontiers with Turkey and Iran.