Akhurik checkpoint now manned exclusively by Armenian Border Guards, NSS confirms

Russian border guards who were previously on duty jointly with their Armenian counterparts at the Akhurik border checkpoint on the Armenia–Türkiye land border, currently closed, have been withdrawn.

As of now, only Armenian border guards are stationed at the Akhurik checkpoint, the Director of the National Security Service, Andranik Simonyan, reaffirmed to reporters on Friday.

During a press briefing, a reporter asked whether Russian border guards are still serving at the “Akhurik” checkpoint. Simonian responded:

“Since the beginning of 2026, only servicemembers of the NSS Border Guards have been serving at the Akhurik checkpoint.”

On a follow-up question about whether this means there are no Russian border guards at the checkpoint at all, the NSS director replied:

“At the checkpoint — no.”