Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Russia's 102nd military base located in Gyumri is not necessary for his country.
Modern.az reports that Pashinyan spoke about this in a statement to journalists after a government meeting.
"We don't need a Russian military base. If they want to withdraw the base, they are welcome to do so tomorrow. If they want to stay, we are ready to discuss the terms of deployment of a base that we don't need in Armenia. What is unclear about this position?" - said the Armenian Prime Minister.
According to Pashinyan, the existence of Russia's 102nd military base does not provide additional security guarantees for Armenia.
He also stated that Armenia has not yet raised the issue of withdrawing the Russian military base from the country:
"Armenia has never raised the issue of withdrawing the Russian military base. Now, the Russian side is bringing this issue to the agenda. We are expressing our position within this logic."
It should be noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in Bishkek on September 1 that if Armenia considers that it does not need a Russian military base, Moscow is ready to withdraw the base. Pashinyan had previously announced that Armenia does not consider the base's presence in the country a "vital necessity."
