Just a few day ago, a new contingent of Armenian Interior Ministry troops was transferred to the volatile border region of Tavush, neighbouring Azerbaijan. The new contingent will be replacing the current one, as the latter heads to the reserves after concluding their tour.
The redeployment was marked in ceremonial fashion at the 1032nd Interior Ministry base on 29 January. During the event, the head of the Interior Ministry, Valeri Osipyan congratulated the troops on their assignment and expressed his strong opinions on their mission. The event concluded with Armenian church officials blessing the troops, along with a military-style march for high-ranking officials,
According to official publications, the following day the former troop contingent that had been replaced returned from their tour and was greeted by a similar ceremony, which included the handing-out of military medals for highly-distinguished servicemen.
Last year Armenian officials agreed on a decision to deploy Interior Ministry troops to man militarised border outposts alongside military conscripts and professional reservists already serving in the northeastern region of Tavush. A similar move was followed by Azerbaijan in December of last year, who deployed specialised border guards to volatile areas in the vicinity of the Qazax region. Some While some argue that deploying troops from institutions outside of the armed forces proper could be the start to a period of distention between Azerbaijan and Armenia, experts from both sides argue on the contrary, that such policies will only lead to the redeployment and concentration of armed forces units elsewhere along the borders, essentially nullifying any confidence-building measures.
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