Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan says he wants to expand the Russian 102nd military base in Gyumri and redeploy some of its resources to the east of Armenia.

Harutyunyan, in a Ria Novosti interview published today, says that Armenia’s defense situation has changed significantly after the recent war in Karabakh and that the role of the Russian border guards now stationed in Armenia must be enlarged.

The Armenian Defense Minister said that the issue of expanding and strengthening the Russian military base in Armenia has always been on Yerevan’s agenda.

While some in Armenia have called for the opening of a second, separate military base in the southeast of the country, along the new Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Harutyunyan said he saw no need to do so and that a redeployment of some of some Russian border guards from the Gyumri base would be sufficient.

Harutyunyan said that Armenia is carrying out military reforms and that Russia is directly involved in the process.

He said that the focus will be on the development of control systems, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, air defense and unmanned aircraft, missile forces and artillery.

Harutyunyan also hinted at the possibility of Armenia and Russia producing weapons jointly.

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