Armenia terminates security arrangement with Russia at main airport

Armenia is terminating a protection arrangement with Russian border guards deployed to its main airport effective from August 1, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in Yerevan on Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the move, which was seen as a sign of decreasing Armenian reliance on Russia.

Contact was continuing at all levels, Peskov said but did not provide details. Under a bilateral agreement, Russian troops have been deployed to Zvartnots International Airport to the west of Yerevan since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992.