The function of the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia is to ensure stability in the region rather than resist the Turkish armed forces, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha said during the Feb 12 Moscow-Yerevan video conference, when commenting on some experts' fears that Armenia will be involved in the Russian-Turkish conflict through the 102nd military base.
He said that the CSTO positions itself as a regional organization, which is responsible for the CSTO member states' security. "Unlike NATO, we do not speak of our influence in any corner of the world, for instance. The matter concerns the security of the CSTO member states - including with the use of the collective force potential within the CSTO only," he said. In this light, he stressed that the CSTO has nothing to do with the Syrian conflict.
Bordyuzha said that Russia does not reinforce its 102nd base but it only supplies up-do-date weapons to ensure the proper preparedness of the base. "The matter concerns planned measures. I cannot say that the 102nd military base is purposefully increasing its potential," he said, adding that the potential of the base is sufficient to cope with the tasks.
Located in the Armenian city of Gyumri, Russia's 102nd military base is part of a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) joint air defense system. On August 2010, Russia and Armenia extended the contract for the military base until 2044, with an extension of its strategic responsibility also possible. To note, in 2015 the Erebuni air base, which is a component of the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia, received two batches of Mi-24P and Mi-8MT helicopters. In 2016, the base will receive MiG-29 fighters. In 2015, the 102nd military base received Takhion drones, Auriga-1,2V systems and other equipment.