Armenia and Russia negotiating 'to ban foreign presence in biological labs’

Moscow is currently negotiating with Yerevan to ban third countries’ military presence in the biological laboratories of Armenia, the Russian ambassador today, commenting on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent statement.

According to Sergey Kopirkin, the process involves also other countries in the post-Soviet region.

“The dialogue with Armenia is rather constructive, as we have a mutual understanding here. I do not rule out the possibility of reaching a common conclusion. But I cannot make any predictions as to the possible form for now. The issue is still under discussion,” he told a news conference.

The diplomat also called for further measures to consider third countries’ presence in the frameworks of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

In an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda on Monday, Lavrov said the two countries are close to completing a deal “guaranteeing foreign troops’ absence from Armenia”.

In subsequent comments to Tert.am, the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Anna Naghdalyan, said the process in all probability deals with the biological laboratories functioning on the territory of Armenia.