Borders with Turkey and Iran: Pashinyan wants Armenia to guard them alone, eventually
- Published
- Place
- National Assembly, Yerevan, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on 2 November that control of all of Armenia’s borders will gradually be handed to the Border Guard Troops of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS). He was speaking to parliamentary committees reviewing the 2027 budget. He linked the move to the launch of biometric passports on 1 November and to the goal of visa-free travel with the European Union, which requires aligning some systems with EU standards. Since 1992, Russian FSB border guards have patrolled the Armenian side of the borders with Turkey and Iran, alongside Armenian guards since January 2025. The Russians already left Zvartnots Airport in August 2024 and the Agarak checkpoint on the Iranian border in early 2025, so every crossing point is now staffed by Armenians. No timetable was given.
Analysis
The transfer is presented as a technical reform tied to closer ties with the European Union. But it touches a symbol: Russian troops along the Turkish border, a legacy of the 1992 agreement. Yerevan is moving step by step, starting with checkpoints, with no announced break with Moscow. Pashinyan himself warned that Armenia’s border service must first be reformed, and spoke of a goal “at least in the medium term”.
Possible consequences
The prime minister noted that the goal is part of the government’s programme and that the status of the border troops will change.
