From January 1, 2025, the Border Guard Troops of the RA National Security Service will also participate in the protection of the Armenia-Iran and Armenia-Turkey state borders. Additionally, service at the Armenia-Iran state border checkpoint will be carried out entirely by the forces of the RA NSS Border Guard Troops. Regarding these issues, a narrative spread in the media sphere suggesting that this is a continuation of the deliberate process of deteriorating relations with Russia.
Although this narrative did not receive wide public response and, instead, the decision was mainly welcomed by the public, there continue to be misconceptions about the importance of this issue.
Formation of the Border Guard Troops
The Border Guard Troops of the Republic of Armenia were established in February 1992, initially being a part of the RA Ministry of Defense. Starting from 1993, by presidential decree, the Border Guard Troops Department of the Ministry of Defense was transferred under the jurisdiction of the RA National Security State Department. Later, the structure was called the RA NSS Border Guard Troops. On April 26, 1994, the Supreme Council first adopted the law “On the RA State Border,” and then on November 20, 2001, the RA law “On Border Guard Troops” was adopted. These define the basic principles of the Border Guard Troops, the organization of RA state border protection, and the forms and methods of combat service activities of the border guard troops. Later in 2006, by the RA government decision April 26 was designated as the Border Guard Day. [i]
There was no issue of deploying border guard troops on the border with Azerbaijan until the start of the border delimitation and demarcation process. The border with Georgia is controlled by the NSS Border Guard Troops in cooperation with the customs service, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The protection of borders with Iran and Turkey was regulated according to the agreement “On the Status and Conditions of Activities of the RF Border Guard Troops in the Territory of the RA” signed with the Russian Federation on September 30, 1992.[ii]
Legal Bases of RF Border Guard Troops in the RA
Article 2 of the agreement “On the Status and Conditions of Activities of the RF Border Guard Troops in the Territory of the RA” states: “The Republic of Armenia, in the interest of its own security, Russia’s security, and ensuring the collective security of CIS member states, authorizes the Russian Federation’s Border Guard Troops, which are deployed in the territory of the Republic of Armenia at the time of signing this Agreement, to protect the state border with Turkey and Iran within its territory.”
Article 30 of the agreement states that the agreement can be modified with the consent of the parties.
I believe that in the current geopolitical situation, authorizing RF Border Guard Troops to protect the Armenian-Iranian and Armenian-Turkish borders is not expedient from the perspective of ensuring Armenia’s security. From the perspective of increasing Armenia’s resilience and making risks more manageable, it would be more appropriate for us to be the guarantor of our own border protection.
The Importance of the Reached Agreement
The most important indicator of any state’s independence, freedom, and sovereignty is its administrative capability within its own territory and borders. First and foremost, this is an important step for strengthening our sovereignty. This is also important from the standpoint of visa liberalization with the EU and Russian influence reduction.
If until recently Russia’s biggest leverage of influence in Armenia was the Artsakh issue, now, apart from economic and energy levers, the presence of Russian troops in Armenia poses major risks.
Having numerous obligations, not only as a strategic ally but also within the CSTO framework, Russia took no action during Azerbaijan’s invasion of Armenia’s sovereign territory in 2021, the September 2022 attack, and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh Armenians in 2023.
Moreover, considering that Russia never made statements recognizing Armenia’s territorial integrity, it’s difficult to believe that Russian border troops would be truly interested in maintaining Armenia’s borders and security.
which refers to cooperation on migration, asylum, and border management issues, states: “2. Cooperation shall be based on specific needs assessment conducted through mutual consultation between the Parties and shall be implemented in accordance with their respective legislation. It shall specifically focus on… (e) organizational and training issues, best practices and other operational measures in the areas of migration management, document security, visa policy, border management and migration information systems.”
This implies that at least at border checkpoints, RA NSS Border Guard Troops’ control will be mandatory in the visa liberalization process. And in the overall process, having an open border with Turkey under our border guards’ control wouldn’t be bad.
Georgia and Azerbaijan developed their border service capabilities in cooperation with the EU and US, therefore if Armenia expresses such desire, similar support can be expected for Armenia as well.
However, even if an agreement is reached later that RA NSS Border Guard Troops will henceforth conduct border control of Armenia’s entire border, developing border service capabilities and separating it from the NSS remains important.
I believe that separating the border service from the NSS can contribute to its more systematic and effective development to increase Armenia’s resilience. This will allow acquiring appropriate capabilities in a short time and conducting the protection of all RA borders exclusively with our own forces.
Summary This is just one of the reforms necessary for Armenia on its path to increasing resilience. The development of Armenia’s Border Guard Troops and separation from the NSS are of strategic importance. These steps provide an opportunity to strengthen the country’s sovereignty, reduce external influence, and develop security system management capabilities.
Arpi Petrosyan, 15 years old
[i] https://www.arlis.am/documentview.aspx?docID=52327
[ii] https://uic.am/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Paym-sahmanapah-arm.pdf
[iii] https://www.mfa.am/filemanager/eu/CEPA_ARM_1.pdf
