Armenian official says Kocharyan boosted family wealth while Baku built its army PHOTO

Armenia’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan has accused former President Robert Kocharyan of prioritising his family’s wealth over national defence during his time in office, noting that while Azerbaijan significantly expanded its military budget between 1998 and 2008, Kocharyan focused on increasing his own.

In a post on his Facebook page, Rubinyan said he did not understand why Kocharyan’s chief of staff was disputing facts, suggesting that the figures on military spending during the period were clear, Caliber.Az reports. 

He rejected as false the claims made by the office of the former president about the balance of military forces between Armenia and Azerbaijan during Kocharyan’s presidency.

Rubinyan stated that in 1998, the first year of Kocharyan’s presidency, the military budgets of Armenia and Azerbaijan were nearly equal, at a ratio of one to one.

By 2008, the final year of Kocharyan’s term, he said Azerbaijan’s military budget had grown to more than five times that of Armenia’s, at a ratio of one to 5.3.

He added that while Azerbaijan had significantly increased its defence spending over that decade, Kocharyan had instead focused on increasing his family’s wealth. Rubinyan concluded by saying that the former president’s chief of staff should better acquaint himself with the facts before making such statements.

By Sabina Mammadli