Russia's 102nd military base in Armenia will be staffed exclusively by personnel serving under contracts starting from the spring of 2016, a source in the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.
"The last conscripts will leave the 102nd Russian military base stationed in Armenia in the spring of 2016," he said.
This decision was adopted last year and was not prompted by the suspected involvement of Russian base serviceman Valery Permyakov in the January 12 murder of six members of one family in the northern Armenian city of Gyumri, near which the base is located, the source said.
Russia's 201st military base stationed in Tajikistan has been staffed exclusively by personnel serving under contracts since December 2014, he said.
The psychological and mental health of soldiers who may serve at Russian military bases in foreign countries will be thoroughly examined at collecting stations in Russia's military districts, the source said.
Russia's 102nd Alexander Nevsky Order military base of the Southern Military District is stationed at two military garrisons. Some 2,500 conscripts arrived at the base as part of a routine rotation in December 2014.
The 201st military base is Russia's largest military facility outside its territory. It has about 6,000 personnel accommodated near Dushanbe, Kurgan-Tyube and Kulyab. Under an agreement signed in October 2012, the 201st military base will remain in Tajikistan until 2042 at the earliest.
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