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Interfax, Russia
Jan 16 2015
No need to withdraw Russian base from Armenia after Gyumri murder - mayor
YEREVAN. Jan 16
The mayor of Gyumri, northern Armenia, Samvel Balasanyan, has said he
sees no need to withdraw Russia's military base from the country
following the murder of six people by a Russian base serviceman on
January 12.
"Criminals and crimes have no ethnicity. Russians have been serving
here for many years. One cannot sacrifice Armenian-Russian relations
or drive a wedge in our relations because of a couple of incidents.
There is even no need to speak about the withdrawal of this base,"
Balasanyan told reporters.
Residents of Gyumri demand that the suspect "stay in Armenia and go on
trial in an Armenian court," the mayor said.
Six members of a family, including a two-year-old child, were killed
in Gyumri on January 12. Another family member, a six-month-old baby,
was hospitalized with knife wounds in serious condition. Valery
Permyakov, who serves at Russia's 102nd military base in Gyumri, was
apprehended shortly afterwards and is currently held at the Russian
military base. On January 14 he was formally charged under Armenian
Criminal Code.
Fourteen people, including five policemen, were injured in clashes
outside the Russian Consulate General in Gyumri, Armenia's
second-largest city, on Thursday evening demanding the Russian
soldier's handover to the Armenian authorities. Demonstrators also
demanded that Permyakov serve his sentence in an Armenian prison.
A rally was also staged in Freedom Square in the center of Yerevan in
support of the Gyumri protests. Clashes were reported between
demonstrators and police.
From: A. Papazian
Jan 16 2015
No need to withdraw Russian base from Armenia after Gyumri murder - mayor
YEREVAN. Jan 16
The mayor of Gyumri, northern Armenia, Samvel Balasanyan, has said he
sees no need to withdraw Russia's military base from the country
following the murder of six people by a Russian base serviceman on
January 12.
"Criminals and crimes have no ethnicity. Russians have been serving
here for many years. One cannot sacrifice Armenian-Russian relations
or drive a wedge in our relations because of a couple of incidents.
There is even no need to speak about the withdrawal of this base,"
Balasanyan told reporters.
Residents of Gyumri demand that the suspect "stay in Armenia and go on
trial in an Armenian court," the mayor said.
Six members of a family, including a two-year-old child, were killed
in Gyumri on January 12. Another family member, a six-month-old baby,
was hospitalized with knife wounds in serious condition. Valery
Permyakov, who serves at Russia's 102nd military base in Gyumri, was
apprehended shortly afterwards and is currently held at the Russian
military base. On January 14 he was formally charged under Armenian
Criminal Code.
Fourteen people, including five policemen, were injured in clashes
outside the Russian Consulate General in Gyumri, Armenia's
second-largest city, on Thursday evening demanding the Russian
soldier's handover to the Armenian authorities. Demonstrators also
demanded that Permyakov serve his sentence in an Armenian prison.
A rally was also staged in Freedom Square in the center of Yerevan in
support of the Gyumri protests. Clashes were reported between
demonstrators and police.
From: A. Papazian