Sputnik - The Border Service of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and a relevant Armenian department conducted a joint exercise with supposed border intrusion into the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region from Iran, the Russian Border Service said Monday.





YEREVAN (Sputnik) — The exercise scenario included two nominal border perpetrators crossing into Nagorno-Karabakh and trying to escape into the mountainous areas. The Russian and Armenian forces trained to coordinate their actions when looking for intruders, the Border Service specified. The nominal trespassers were located, one — by a border patrol team and another — by use of a quadcopter carrying a video camera, that scoped them out and convoyed them away, according to the statement.
"In order to boost coherence in actions of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia in Armenia and the border force of the National Security Service of Armenia in various conditions, a joint exercise was organized and carried out, themed ‘Conducting Border Search in the Junction (Nyuvadinsk) Region’," the statement by the organization’s press service said.


The Armenian border patrolling system of the Turkish and Iranian frontiers remains intact since the Soviet era. FSB’s Border Service in Armenia includes almost 4,500 people split into four border patrolling teams in Armenian cities and a border control point at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport. The service is financed jointly by the Armenian and Russian governments.