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Reports Of Armenian Troop Deployment In Russia Denied

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  • Reports Of Armenian Troop Deployment In Russia Denied

    REPORTS OF ARMENIAN TROOP DEPLOYMENT IN RUSSIA DENIED

    Asbarez Staff
    http://www.asbarez.com/2009/09/03/reports-of -armenian-troop-deployment-in-russia-denied/
    Sep 3rd, 2009

    YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Armenia will not have a permanent military presence
    in Russia as part of its involvement in a Russian-led rapid reaction
    force comprising troops from five former Soviet republics, a top
    official in Moscow said on Thursday.

    An agreement on the formation of the force, officially called the
    Collective Operational Reaction Forces (CORF), was formalized in June
    during a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a
    Russian-led military alliance. Two of the CSTO's seven member states,
    Belarus and Uzbekistan, refused to sign the agreement because of
    major disagreements with Moscow.

    Citing an unnamed official at the CSTO headquarters in Moscow, the
    Russian Regnum news agency reported last month that under the terms
    of the deal, Armenia will be able to open two military bases in the
    Russian North Caucasus. The official was quoted as saying that the
    "limited contingent" would be stationed in the Krasnodar region and
    the restive Muslim republic of Dagestan to primarily ensure "the
    security of the transport infrastructure" in the area.

    The Armenian government has not explicitly denied the information
    so far. But Nikolay Bordyuzha, the CSTO secretary general, insisted
    on Thursday that Moscow and Yerevan have not even negotiated on the
    possibility of Armenian troop deployment in the mentioned area.

    "Armenia is a party to the agreement on the Collective Operational
    Reaction Forces and has set aside army units and special forces from
    national security and internal affairs bodies for that purpose,"
    Bordyuzha told Armenian journalists in a video conference from Moscow.

    Bordyuzha said those forces would be normally based in Armenia. The
    CORF would use them only "in cases where there is a need for their
    involvement in carrying out a concrete military task," he added.

    The Russian military is expected to contribute by far the largest
    contingent of the CORF. Official Yerevan has yet to specify the number
    of Armenian soldiers and other security personnel that it will commit
    to the NATO-style force.
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