Interfax quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that President Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reached an agreement on the troop withdrawal plan, after talks in Moscow on May 8.
“In the fall of 2020, at the request of the Armenian side, our army and border guards were deployed to a number of Armenian regions. Pashinyan said that now, due to changed conditions, there is no need for them and President Putin agreed to withdraw the troops,” Peskov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) meets with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Moscow in 2021
Sputnik Armenia news agency quoted a senior politician from Armenia’s ruling party as saying that Putin and Pashinyan had agreed that Russian military units and border guards would withdraw from five Armenian regions. However, Russian border guards would remain on Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran, at the request of Yerevan officials.
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The news follows the withdrawal of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers from the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenia, traditionally Russia’s ally, has for months been critical of its existing relationship with Moscow, angry that Russian peacekeepers did not intervene during Azerbaijan’s offensive to retake the region in September 2023.
On May 8, TASS news agency reported that the two leaders of Russia and Armenia discussed the most important issues in bilateral and regional relations. Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said earlier that Putin's dialogue with Pashinyan was expected to be very important, as the two leaders "have a lot to discuss".
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tong-thong-putin-dong-y-rut-luc-luong-khoi-armenia-185240509190445069.htm
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