Armenian MP comments on Yerevan, Baku's post-war army reforms

REGION  01 July 2022 - 10:01

Armenian MP Tigran Abrahamyan has said that while Azerbaijan is buying equipment, Armenia is discussing the replacement of tents on the front line with houses.

Abrahamyan, a member of the Armenian parliament from the opposition faction I have Honor, made the remarks on June 30, Caliber.Az reports.

"Our main task is to understand what Armenia has done and what Azerbaijan has done in the post-war period," he said.

According to the MP, in order to understand the situation in Armenia from the point of view of both the military-political balance and the balance of forces, it is necessary to analyse the activities of the parties.

"In the post-war period, Azerbaijan declared that its path was to reform the armed forces according to the Turkish model. A short time after that, the process of preparing the Azerbaijani Armed Forces at the Turkish training grounds began. Moreover, as of now, there are already five Azerbaijani military units that have been fully trained in Türkiye, the officers separately, and the enlisted personnel separately. These are, in fact, units that solve special tasks that have already been deployed in Kalbajar, Lachin, and Hadrut. Azerbaijan has today not only ensured the deployment on the front line but has also begun the reorganisation of military units, which takes place under the direct control and with the participation of Türkiye," Tigran Abrahamyan said.

According to him, Azerbaijan has also resolved the issue of deploying its forces at the most important tactical and strategic heights and has brought the front line fully into proper condition. There is also information about the placement of heavy equipment in various areas.

The deputy noted that another important factor is the supply of weapons. Azerbaijan replenishes the losses incurred during the war and concludes new agreements, one of which concerns the supply of an additional batch of UAVs. And in the current security situation in Armenia, the installation of tents on the front line is considered an "achievement".

"Two months after the end of the war, the first statement was made in Armenia about the beginning of reforms in the Armed Forces. A year and a half after this statement, no one can see real reforms in our Armed Forces. The last thing we discussed as part of the reforms in the Armed Forces was structural changes in the General Staff and the Defence Ministry, which are presented as reforms, but their real goal is to keep the Chief of the General Staff subordinate to party functionaries.

The Armenian authorities pursue only one goal – to keep the Armed Forces completely under their political control. Because I just don't see any other function that would be claimed. While we are talking about acquisitions, the placement of Azerbaijani equipment, the issue of replacing tents on the front line with cabins is being discussed in Armenia," Tigran Abrahamyan stressed.

Caliber.Az