Russia, Armenia sign military cooperation pact through 2044

Yerevan/Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met Friday in Yerivan with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan and assured Armenia of Moscow's military protection for Armenia.

The two leaders signed an agreement extending the stationing of Russian forces in Armenia until 2044, with Medvedev assuring Moscow's military protection if the country is attacked by Azerbaijan, the Interfax agency reported.

"Russia's task as the largest and most powerful state in the region consists of securing peace and order," Medvedev said in Yerevan, capital of the former Soviet republic.

His remarks come to the backdrop of repeated warnings by Azerbaijan of its aim to re-take the Berg-Karabach region which came under Armenia's control after bitter war in the early 1990s.

Some 30,000 people were killed in the fighting then in which Russia eventually came to back Armenia. A shaky ceasefire accord has been in effect since 1994.

The new agreement extends the original one from 1995 which foresaw the stationing of Russian troops in Armenia until the year 2020.

Interfax reported that about 3,500 Russian soldiers are stationed in the cities of Yerevan and Gyumri, about 100 kilometres north-west of the capital.

The signing ceremony came as Medvedev was wrapping up a brief visit after attending a conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi with the leaders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan earlier in the week.

Copyright DPA
Posted : Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:48:13 GMT
By : dpa