Russian border guards can no longer be found at Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport, but Russia’s strategic presence elsewhere in Armenia seems set to continue for the foreseeable future, despite Armenia’s geopolitical turn away from the Kremlin toward the West.

For decades, Russian border guards had been stationed at Zvartnots and along Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran, a reflection of the once-solid Russian-Armenian strategic partnership. But bilateral ties have frayed following Azerbaijan’s reconquest of Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenia is now trying to reduce the level of Russian influence over its political and economic affairs. 

In March, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that his government had given Moscow until August 1 to remove the border guards from the airport, stating that Armenian personnel were perfectly capable of managing passport and customs controls independently. The Russian Foreign Ministry initially criticized the decision, but the two countries finalized the withdrawal timetable in May.

In addition, Russia has pulled back its “peacekeeping” troops and border guards from Armenia’s frontier with Azerbaijan. These forces had been deployed at Yerevan’s request during and after the 2020 fighting in Karabakh, which saw Azerbaijan recapture much of the territory. Armenia has also expressed its intent to withdraw from the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.

Despite these recent developments, Russia’s military presence in Armenia isn’t about to end anytime soon. Russian border guards are set to continue patrolling Armenia’s borders with Iran and Turkey, and Moscow also shows no sign of leaving a military base near the city of Gyumri.

In a sign of Moscow’s vexation over Armenia’s recent efforts to improve relations with the European Union and United States, Russian officials in mid-July imposed a ban on the import of fresh fruits and vegetables from 16 Armenian entities. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s agricultural regulator, claimed that several batches of imported Armenian products exceeded permissible pesticide residue levels.

The Armenian Food Safety Inspection Body (FSIB) was notified of the ban in a letter publicized on July 17. The FSIB has pledged to intensify testing and investigate the 16 affected firms and individual entrepreneurs. Bilateral discussions to resolve the matter are ongoing. Russian officials are expected to visit Armenia in late August to conduct joint inspections of production, processing, storage, and shipment sites for Russia-bound agricultural exports.

The economic impact of the ban is unclear. According to official data, Armenia's exports of fruits and vegetables amounted to $182.5 million for all of 2023, and roughly $70 million during the first five months of 2024, with over 90 percent of exports headed to Russia. Nearly 74,000 tons of Armenian fruits and vegetables, including apricots, apples and tomatoes, have been imported from Armenia since the beginning of the year, according to Rosselkhoznadzor.