Russian military police subdivision’s function in military base in Armenia is regulation of internal service issues – clarification

Armenia’s defense ministry made clarification over the deployment of the Russian military police’s subdivision in the Russian military base in Armenia.

The defense ministry said having representatives of military police in military bases or subdivisions deployed in foreign states is a service necessity and an internationally accepted practice. The Republic of Armenia as well is forming special subdivisions of the military police which will soon be included in the troops departing for international peacekeeping missions, as well as in the CSTO collective forces.

The ministry said the Russian armed forces carry out functions in Armenia’s territory envisaged exclusively by international contracts and agreements.

“The issue of having a military police subdivision in the 102nd Russian military base deployed in Armenia has been mutually agreed by the defense ministries of Armenia and Russia in 2014. The function of the military police subdivision is to regulate the internal service issues and its inclusion in the structure of the military base in no way violates the existing agreements on the structure of the base and the maximum number”, the ministry’s statement said.

At the same time, the Armenian and Russian defense ministries started developing an interstate draft agreement on ‘Military police bodies of the Russian Armed Forces in the territory of Armenia’ aimed at defining a necessary legal status and jurisdictions for conducting special functions towards the Russian soldiers in the territory of Armenia, as well as for cooperating with the military police of Armenia’s defense ministry. The agreement, according to the legislations of Armenia and Russia, should pass the procedures of signing preparation, signing, ratification and approval.