The United Group of Forces (; ) is a joint unit with the

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

and the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. It is composed of management bodies and units and formations of both militaries: the Russian 102nd Military Base and the Armenian Army's 5th Army Corps. It is currently deployed at the Russian Military Base in Gyumri.

Purpose

It is designed to provide military security in the Caucasus region, particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Specifically, it identifies the preparation of military actions either country and responds jointly. An example of where this joint action would be needed was laid out by Armenian General

Andranik Makaryan Andranik Artavazd Makaryan ( hy, Անդրանիկ Արտավազդի Մակարյան) is an Armenian Army lieutenant general. He is a Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff. He has also held various senior positions in the armed forces. ...

: "if the village of Voskevaz is shelled, the combined troops will be involved, or the war must be officially declared". They have held exercises on an annual basis. In peacetime, the group of forces is commanded by the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces. During any period of hostilities, all the leadership of the group is transferred to the Russian

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military ...

based in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

History

It was initially set up in 2000 by President Robert Kocharyan and President Vladimir Putin. In November 2016, on the sidelines of the CIS Defense Ministers Council session in Moscow, Defense Ministers

Sergey Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...

and Vigen Sargsyan signed an agreement on reinforcing the tasks of the unit. At the time of the signing, Azerbaijani lawmakers in National Assembly condemned the agreement, claiming that it is proof of Russian support for Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In July 2017, the

Federation Council of Russia The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...

ratified the agreement on the united group of troops. The term of the agreement is five years. In early 2018, Major General Tigran Parvanyan was appointed commander of the group. Nikol Pashinyan has called for the strengthening the group, referring to it as "an essential element in ensuring regional security".

References

{{Armenian Armed Forces Military units and formations of Armenia Military units and formations of Russia 2000 establishments in Armenia Military units and formations established in 2000 Armenia–Russia relations