Moscow fears that Armenia may demand that Russia pull its border guards from Yerevan’s international airport and close its military base at Gyumri, following Armenia’s suspension of its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Russian officials see the West as behind these moves and warn that if Armenia continues to follow the path of Georgia and Ukraine, it may face the same fate.
Moscow is already applying economic pressure and exploiting Azerbaijani territorial demands in northern Armenia in hopes that it can block Armenia’s turn to the West.
On March 6, shortly after Armenia suspended its cooperation with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Yerevan called for Moscow to pull its border guards from Armenia’s international airport.
Armenia’s latest demand has sparked fears in Moscow that Yerevan, given its rapidly warming ties with the European Union, will demand that Russia remove its guards from other portions of the Armenian border.
On the one hand, the analogies some in Moscow are drawing between the Armenian situation and what has already happened in Georgia and Ukraine are alarming.
Doing either or both would be consistent with the Putin regime’s tactics elsewhere, meaning they cannot be excluded in Armenia. »
