10:49, 27 March 2018

Political analysts alerted by Russia's decision to send military police to Gyumri

Entrance to Gyumri. Photo by Armine Martirosyan for the Caucasian Knot.

The Russia's decision to send units of the military police to Gyumri and Yerevan is dictated by the desire to reduce the number of incidents involving Russian soldiers, but it contradicts the agreement between the two countries. This opinion was expressed by Armenian political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 26, Russia announced sending the military police units to the 102nd military base in Gyumri and to the military garrison in Yerevan. The maintenance of discipline in units was mentioned among the tasks to be performed by the military police.

The 102nd Russian military base is located in the Armenian city of Gyumri and its soldiers often became involved in various incidents, including criminal ones. Of them, the most resonant incident was a murder of six members of the Avetisyan family in January 2015. Valery Permyakov, a regular soldier from Russia, accused of the murder, was punished with a life sentence.

As a result of the Russian authorities' actions, the military base in Gyumri can become a "state in the state," Styopa Safaryan, the research director at the Armenian Centre for National and International Studies, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Styopa Safaryan, incidents involving Russian soldiers indicate there are "serious problems" at the Russian military base and that is "perfectly understood" in Russia.

On the one hand, Russia is trying to minimize those problems, but on the other hand, the introduction of the military police units affects the sovereignty of Armenia, the expert believes. "To some extent, there is a reduction of a part of the sovereignty. This is a soft occupation," Styopa Safaryan said.

The agreement between Armenia and Russia on issues of jurisdiction and mutual assistance in cases involving the presence of the Russian armed forces does not imply the deployment of the military police in Armenia, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Daniel Ionnisyan, a programme coordinator of the "Union of Informed Citizens".

In order for the military police to be considered a competent authority in the territory of the Russian military base, it is necessary first to amend the agreement between Armenia and Russia, the expert explained.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Armine Martirosyan

Source: CK correspondent