Crime in Gyumri no basis for relocation of the Russian military base: Political scientist

Alisa Gevorgyan
Public Radio of Armenia

“The Russian base in Gyumri is of military significance. If it was unnecessary, it would have been relocated irrespective of this crime. If it’s necessary, it will stay in place even after the crime,” political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan told reporters today.

Iskandaryan said the interpretations, suggesting that the crime in Gyumri has been incited by the West or Azerbaijan, are naive. Refraining from legal assessment, the political scientist said it’s unclear how an unbalanced person, who had had problems before, could appear at a military unit, leave the base and commit a slaughter.

“The crime should be properly investigated, all culprits should be revealed to exclude the reoccurrence of such crimes in the future. As for the demand to hand Permyakov over to the Armenian side, Russians cannot do that, as they have caught the man. Practice shows that they never hand over the criminals they catch,” Iskandaryan said.

As for the relocation of the Russian military base, the political scientist said: “Military bases are established in the context of military-political logic. Such issues are solved on a different level.”

According to him, the format of Armenian-Russian relations will be maintained, despite the current tension. Iskandaryan noted also that Armenia will inevitably suffer as a result of tension between Russia and the United States.