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Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently sent a careful message to Russia regarding the future of the 102nd Military Base in Gyumri. Speaking at Government Hour in Armenia’s National Assembly, Pashinyan clarified that Armenia never demanded the withdrawal of the Russian base and was open to discussing its potential withdrawal at Russia’s request. He thus avoided closing the door on Russia’s base while not encouraging it to stay unconditionally.
“Again, the 102nd military base — we have never even asked to have it withdrawn. So if Russia finds it necessary to keep it on our territory, that’s up to them. We are ready to discuss this with our Russian friends, because Russia is a friendly country for us. And we are not setting any conditions or preconditions. We are simply saying that we are ready to discuss this.”
Located in Armenia’s second-largest city of Gyumri, the 102nd base has been a Russian military outpost in the South Caucasus since the Soviet era. Today it is one of the few Russian military bases abroad, situated at the intersection of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Iran. Since Armenia’s post-war defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, the issue of the base has become extremely sensitive.
Pashinyan confirmed that he has raised the issue of the 102nd Military Base with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials since coming to power in 2018 — but has never asked Russia to withdraw. Putin stated in Bishkek that Moscow would pull the base if Yerevan so requested. Pashinyan pushed back publicly: Armenia never asked.
“Armenia has never raised the issue of withdrawing the 102nd Military Base, but if the Russian Federation decides to withdraw the military base, Armenia will not object, because the presence of the military base in the Republic of Armenia is not of vital importance,” Pashinyan said, according to Armenpress.
By not declaring the base vital for Armenia, Pashinyan is not pushing Russia out — while also not holding the door open unconditionally. Negotiations on Russia’s terms remain open. He pointedly called Russia a “friendly country.”
The backdrop matters. Russian peacekeeping forces withdrew from Karabakh in 2024. The CSTO has been effectively sidelined by Yerevan. Pashinyan has been quietly expanding ties with the EU and the United States since Karabakh fell.
