Yerevan Concerned about Baku’s Rhetoric on Armenia’s Military Reforms

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a group of reporters from Great Britain on Monday that his government is concerned about the threats being made by Azerbaijan regarding Armenia’s efforts to reform and strengthen its military capabilities.

“We are worried about a number of statements coming from Azerbaijan regarding the reforms and modernization of the Armenian army,” Pashinyan said during a joint interview with a journalist from the United Kingdom who interviewed him in Yerevan.

“If we look at the percentage of the military budgets of Azerbaijan and Armenia, there is a significant imbalance here, but even in the conditions of this imbalance, Azerbaijan is reacting very aggressively to the reforms of Armenia’s Armed Forces and the acquisition of weapons and equipment, although we all understand that these acquisitions are exclusively for defense purposes,” Pashinyan added.

“I have said on several occasions that no country can challenge another country’s right to have a combat-ready military. I think that having a combat-ready army is also important for peace, for creating the right balance of power. And this is also the reason why, when Azerbaijan raises these issues, we also do not leave those statements unanswered,” Pashinyan said.

He explained that the purchase of weapons by Armenia is not more than 15 to 20 percent of the weapons purchased by Azerbaijan, both financially and in terms of volume, and is mainly of a defensive nature and of defensive significance.

Pashinyan told the British journalists that Yerevan has proposed to Baku to create a bilateral arms control mechanism to prevent an arms race in the region.

“We have proposed and continue to propose that a simultaneous withdrawal of troops take place from the border recorded in the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. We have proposed to sign a non-aggression agreement even before reaching an agreement on a peace treaty, because it is a very simple agreement , especially now that we have put the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration at the heart of our delimitation and demarcation process,” Pashinyan added.

“We are not preparing for war; we are preparing for peace. However, until we are convinced that the Republic of Armenia will not be attacked, we naturally have to develop our defense capabilities,” said Pashinyan.

“Furthermore, I have stated that aside from the 29,743 square kilometer territory, the Republic of Armenia has no ambitions in any direction: neither to the south, nor to the west, nor to the north, nor to the east. We believe that we should build and develop our sovereignty and independence on this foundation,’’ said the prime minister.

Pashinyan also discussed the pending peace treaty with Azerbaijan that is being negotiated, saying that while establishing peace would benefit the international sphere, Armenia and Azerbaijan will the primary beneficiaries of that peace.

The prime minister boasted that, during that past five months, Yerevan and Baku have reached two major agreements, one of which was Armenia’s official decision on Friday to cede four villages in the Tavush Province and receive nothing in return from Azerbaijan.