A Russian Defence Ministry official has said that surplus weapons and equipment at its military base in Armenia will be given to the Armenian army.
Andrey Gusev, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's department for military cooperation with the CIS, made the remarks in the Russian parliament's upper house, the Federation Council, during debates on Tuesday on ratification of a protocol to extend the term of the Russian military base stationed in Armenia, Interfax-Azerbaijan reports.
The announcement is unlikely to please Azerbaijan, a swathe of whose territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region, is occupied by Armenian forces.
The subject may be raised at the latest talks on Saturday between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, mediated by Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev, to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict over Karabakh.
The Russian Defence Ministry official told senators on Tuesday that the base had changed its way of working.
"The Russian military base in Armenia has moved to a brigade system. Now it has 4,245 people, including 370 military personnel and 500 civilian experts," Andrey Gusev said.
He said that the improvements did not affect the combat readiness of the units. "The personnel of the base are ready to meet their objectives, including those set as part of the joint Russian-Armenian troops," the colonel said.
The head of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security, Viktor Ozerov, said that the ratification of the protocol would further strengthen political and military cooperation between Russia and Armenia, and met Russia's interests.
"Our committee recommended that the Federation Council approve the federal law 'On ratification of the protocol between Russia and Armenia on amendments to the agreement on the Russian military base in the republic, dated 16 March 1995', adopted by the State Duma,” he said.
The 102nd Russian military base has been located since 1995 near the town of Gyumri in line with interstate agreements on the division of the Soviet-era Red Banner South Caucasus Military District. The territory of the base was extended following agreements in December 2005.
The protocol to extend the term of the base from 25 to 49 years was signed in August 2010.
The base is designed to perform peacekeeping tasks and to act as a deterrent against possible aggression from outside in conjunction with the Armenian armed forces.
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