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The rumors floating around that Moscow told Yerevan about plans to fully withdraw Russian border guards from Armenia are not true, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"I can see a great deal of speculation surrounding the meeting of the Russian and Armenian leaders on May 8. Rumors that the Russian side has allegedly proposed to fully withdraw its border guards from Armenian territory are false," TASS quoted her as saying on Wednesday.

"We can also see in other sources some statements saying that the withdrawal is being held within the Baku-Yerevan agreement on not deploying third-country representatives at the joint border. All of this is just conjecture," Zakharova pointed out. "The reality is that the talks between the Russian and Armenian leaders, held at Yerevan’s request, focused on the withdrawal of Russian border guards from a number of Armenia’s regions bordering Azerbaijan to fulfill previously agreed upon commitments," she added.

On May 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The meeting was their first since December 2023.