Armenia is not discussing the withdrawal of Russia’s 102nd military base, National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan told reporters, according to Aysor.am .

“There is no such issue, Armenia is not discussing the withdrawal of the Russian military base,” Simonyan stated.

His comments came in response to a question on whether Azerbaijan’s demand for the absence of third-party forces implied the removal of the Russian base from Armenia.

Simonyan dismissed such interpretations, calling the discussions absurd.

“There is no such matter under consideration, and it cannot be considered. I don’t know who comes up with such ‘brilliant’ ideas,” he added.

Earlier, Hikmet Hajiyev, aide to the President of Azerbaijan, had stated that following the 44-day war, there was no longer a need for foreign military presence in the region. He also claimed that “external forces interfere to promote their own interests.”