Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on December 30 that the Border Guard Troops of Armenia are now solely responsible for border control at the Agarak checkpoint on the Armenia-Iran state border.

Posting on Facebook, Pashinyan noted that since Armenia’s independence in 1991, this task had been managed by the Border Guard Troops of the Russian Federation. 

He expressed gratitude to the Russian forces for their dedicated service over the years and extended his best wishes to Armenia’s border guards, who have now assumed this important responsibility.

The decision to transfer the checkpoint under the control of Armenian border guards was made during a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 8 October. 

These changes come against the backdrop of a broader process of transformation of Armenian-Russian relations, including earlier decisions to withdraw Russian border guards from Zvartnots airport and Russian military personnel from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.