Question of the 102nd military base has become a subject of blackmail: Grigor Balasanyan

Attention has turned to the topic of the 102nd Russian military base following the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. In internal Armenian discourse, particularly in Western-oriented expert circles, the question of the base’s continued presence has long been actively discussed. This was stated by international affairs analyst Grigor Balasanyan in a conversation with Alpha News.

“The base’s presence is as necessary for Armenia as it is for Russia. If the people of Armenia believe this base is no longer needed, then this issue should be resolved accordingly,” the expert said.

Speaking about the current state of Armenian-Russian relations, Balasanyan noted that the meeting between Pashinyan and Putin left a rather heavy impression. According to him, there has not been such tension in bilateral relations for a long time, but this time it was evident and noticeable even during the meeting itself.

“The gesturing of the head of the Armenian government also pointed to the extreme tension of the situation. We also did not understand why Pashinyan spoke Armenian during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit but switched to Russian during the bilateral meeting. If the decision is to speak Armenian, then it would be right to continue speaking Armenian. If the Armenian language is associated with a symbol of sovereignty, I am not against it, let them speak Armenian,” he said.