Serzh Sarkisian took issue on 7 October with a hypothesis expressed the previous day at a NATO-organized seminar in Yerevan by Sir Brian Fall, who is the British special representative for the South Caucasus, RFE/RL\'s Armenian Service reported. Fall suggested that the Armenian government\'s continued willingness to host a Russian military base is due to fears of renewed aggression from Azerbaijan, and he asked rhetorically whether Armenia would want a \"substantial Russian military presence on its territory\" even after the Karabakh conflict is resolved. Sarkisian responded on 7 October saying that the Russian military presence has \"nothing to do with the Karabakh problem and our relations with Azerbaijan in general.\" He said the Russian troops constitute \"an integral part\" of Armenia\'s security and \"could be useful\" in light of the hypothetical threat from Turkey, which, Sarkisian continued, \"has until now pursued a hostile policy toward us.\" (RFE/RL)