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YEREVAN - Russia will play a new role in ensuring Armenia’s security by extending the lease of its military base in the South Caucasus republic by 24 years, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has claimed.

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, are due to sign amendments to the 1995 treaty on the Russian military base during Medvedev’s visit to Yerevan later this week.

Nalbandian told a Russian TV channel that the base, along with meeting Moscow’s interests and serving to protect Armenia’s security, seeks to provide his country with up-to-date weaponry and military machinery with Russia’s assistance.

President Medvedev is due in Armenia on Thursday. At the weekend, he is expected to join an informal summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the military arm of CIS.

Rasim Musabayov, an Azerbaijani political analyst, has labeled Armenian officials’ statements regarding Medvedev’s visit as "imitation and nonsense".

"What has really happened? A previous agreement which expires in as long as 15 years is being extended a little. During the next visit they could extend the deal up to a hundred years, what would that change? In fact, once the standing agreement has expired, it was possible to extend its term by five years every year. What I am trying to say is that such statements are an imitation."

Musabayov said that by approving changes to the agreement it is actually impossible to deliver new machinery to Armenia, because the roads remain shut.

"Turkey closed the border with this country a long time ago and does not allow anything to be delivered to Armenia, while Georgia does not wish to do so anyhow. They say that Russia will deliver S-400 missiles to Armenia. I want to ask: by which route? Can this be brought from Iran by sea? Given Iran’s current situation, this is very hard to believe. For this reason I believe that these views of Armenian officials are nonsense. They think that by issuing such statements they would increase the importance of the Russian president’s visit and that they are allegedly challenging us."

Armenia's ruling party claims the deepening of Yerevan's military cooperation with Russia will strengthen the balance of forces in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict and discourage any attempt to resolve it by force, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

Eduard Sharmazanov, the spokesman of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK), has confirmed that Armenia is reinforcing its military alliance with Russia in response to Azerbaijan's alleged ongoing military buildup and threats of war.

"If we want to have adequate national security, especially considering statements made by our eastern and western neighbors, we need to be able to develop counterbalancing mechanisms," he said at a news conference. "And I think that the agreement to extend the deployment of that base is also aimed at ensuring the balance of forces."

Sharmazanov claimed that the new defense pact will "practically rule out a military solution to the Karabakh problem." He said "that is important not only for the Republic of Armenia, but also long-term peace and stability in the region."

HHK Deputy Chairman Razmik Zohrabian told RFE/RL on August 13 that the amended treaty will oblige Moscow to support the Armenian side in the event of renewed fighting in Karabakh.

Armenian critics of the amendments, among them some opposition politicians, dismiss such claims. They point out that a new Armenian-Azerbaijani war would be confined to Karabakh and surrounding territories. They are worried that Armenia will become even more dependent on Russia.

Sharmazanov rejected such criticism as "inappropriate and populist." He insisted that the treaty amendments will be beneficial for Armenia.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered negotiations have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded.

A Russian lawmaker has said extending Russian military presence in Armenia does not hurt Azerbaijan’s interests.

"Extending the term of presence of the Russian military base in Armenia will promote stability in the region, meets Armenian interests and does not touch upon Azerbaijan’s interests," said Alexei Ostrovski, a committee chairman at the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

"I see absolutely no [grounds for] concern for the Azerbaijani side in connection with this decision by President Medvedev," Ostrovski told Russian RIA Novosti news agency Wednesday. He added, however, that "the emergence of a certain perturbed reaction" on the part of Azerbaijan -- another strategic partner and ally of Russia in the region – was quite possible.

The Russian base in the city of Gyumri, located in Armenia’s north, is reportedly equipped with S-300 missiles and MiG-29 fighter jets. 5,000 personnel are employed at the base. The amendments to be signed will extend Russia's basing rights by 24 years, to 2044, and redefine the mission of its troops. They stipulate that the troops' mission is not only to protect "the interests of the Russian Federation" but also "to ensure the security of the Republic of Armenia" with the Armenian military. They also commit Russia to supplying Armenia with "modern and compatible weaponry and special military hardware."