For more than a month already in the territory of the former airport near the village of Aigepar in the Berdsky district of the Tavush region, the active construction of the Russian military base is underway. In Soviet times, there was a runway for the Yak-40 aircraft. This was reported by the Armenian service of the Radio “Freedom” with reference to the residents of the village.
The village of Aegepar is located one kilometer from the Azerbaijani village of Alibaili. This is a zone of active clashes preceding a 44-day war. It was on this section of the State Border who the Armenian armed forces made provocations against Azerbaijan, which went down in history as July fights or July events. During these battles, in particular, the national hero of Azerbaijan Plad Hashimov died.
As Azatutyun notes, on June 17, among the unfinished issues of the government, the question of signing Protocol No. 2 on amendments to the protocol “On the deployment points of the Russian military base in Armenia”.
According to the justification posted on the government’s website, in connection with the change in addresses of the deployment points of the Russian military base located in Armenia, there was a need to make changes to the composition of land and real estate transferred to the Russian side, as well as in the documents constituting the legal basis . The justification was presented by the Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan.
“The signing of the protocol is due to the need to ensure the conditions for the activities of military units of the Russian military base as a result of changing their composition,” the justification says.
What is being built in Berda for the Russian military? According to local residents, there are also Russians among construction managers. What is the term, the number of military and what mission are we talking about? The Armenian Ministry of Defense does not give answers to all these questions.
According to the deputy head of the community, Berd Samvel Ovsepyan, the airport did not belong to the community, their work was only to give the developer a building permit.
“Probably, the territory belonged to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, but since ancient times it is the territory of the airport, it is not communal,” Ovsepyan said.
However, local residents are only happy to rumor about the emergence of the Russian military base in this region. A resident of Aigapara Vache Kalantaryan, recalling the years of military confrontation with Azerbaijan, notes that residents of the region “associate hopes” with the advent of a military base.