Pashinyan says Russian military base not vital for Armenia

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the presence of a Russian military base was not vital for Armenia and Yerevan would not object if Moscow decided to withdraw it.

“We have not raised this issue because Russia is a friendly country to us. If they want, they can withdraw their base as soon as tomorrow, and if they want to keep it, we are ready to discuss the issue,” Pashinyan said.

He said Armenia itself had never raised the issue of withdrawing Russia’s 102nd military base but was ready to discuss the terms of its continued presence if Moscow wanted to maintain it.