'Step In The Right Direction': U.S. Welcomes Russian Border Guards' Withdrawal From Armenia

The United States on Thursday reacted to Russian border guards' withdrawal from Yerevan airport calling it "a welcome step in the right direction," TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The blunt goodbye came this week, just a few months after Armenia announced that it had sent an official request to Russia asking it to remove its border troops from the Zvartnots airport, amid a serious deterioration in relations between Yerevan and Moscow early this year.

"It was, of course, concerning development then.. But certainly [the Russian withdrawal] would be a welcome step in the right direction," State Department's spokesperson Vedant Patela told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

Prior to the Russian border guards’ departure from Zvartnots, a key U.S. diplomat overseeing Eurasia, James O’Brien, told a Senate hearing that he was hoping Moscow would honour the ‘sovereign wishes of Armenia’ by removing its border guards from Zvartnots ‘so that Armenia can build the relationships that it wants’.

During yesterday's briefing, TURAN also asked Patel about the U.S. position on the latest Turkish-Armenian talks. "This is something that the Secretary [of State] is deeply engaged in and we’re committed to," he said in response without offering further detailed comments.