Russia has ended its presence at the Agarak border checkpoint on the Armenia-Iran border after 30 years of patrolling. The withdrawal, announced by the Institute for the Study of War and confirmed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, occurred according to a agreement reached between Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2024.
From January 1, 2025, Armenian border forces have fully assumed control of this strategic passage. This change follows the withdrawal of Russian guards from Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport in July 2024another step towards autonomy in the management of Armenia’s national security.
These changes mark a turning point in relations between Russia and Armeniacountries that have historically maintained close political, economic and military ties.
The departure of the Russian guards thus underlines the deterioration of these relations since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2022during which Moscow did not intervene in the border conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, generating discontent in Yerevan.
He Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia had previously expressed his concern about this withdrawalarguing that it could increase risks to Armenia’s security and economic development. However, the Armenian government had pushed since March 2024 for Russian guards to abandon their border positions, citing rising tensions with Moscow.
Strategic Implications
Russia’s withdrawal from the Agarak checkpoint reinforces the sovereignty of Armenia on its southern bordershared with Iran, a 44-kilometer line that has been patrolled by Russian forces since Armenia’s independence in 1990.
Pashinyan celebrated the change with a message on Facebook: “As of today, border control is carried out only by officers of the Border Guard Forces of the Republic of Armenia at the Agarak border crossing on the state border between Armenia and Iran.”
“Until now, since the independence of Armenia, border control was carried out by officers of the Border Guard troops of the Russian Federation at the Agarak border crossing, and I want to thank them for their service. And I wish success and good service to our border guards who have taken over border control from today“he added.
For your partIgor Sushkoa Ukrainian living in the US, highlighted the importance of the change in July, sharing a video of the departure of Russian forces from the Yerevan airport on the social network X: “After 32 years, Russian border guards abandoned their posts at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan at the request of Armenia”.
