Former defence minister questions viability of Armenia’s pivot to Western arms

Former Armenian Defence Minister Arshak Karapetyan has voiced serious concerns over the effectiveness of Western-supplied military equipment, stating that approximately 90 per cent of the weapons acquired from Western countries are not operational, citing both technical and logistical issues.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on the theme “The internal situation in Armenia and its impact on the country's international policy,” Karapetyan criticized Yerevan’s recent defence procurement strategy, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“According to my information, everything they [the Armenian authorities-ed.] bought—though I won’t name the countries to avoid offence—about 90 per cent of it is not usable for various reasons. Some of the equipment is technically incompatible. For example, they bought artillery cannons, but there are no suitable shells, as the standards differ,” he said.

Karapetyan also argued that Western-supplied ammunition, even if available, would prove far more costly than Russian alternatives—an economic burden Armenia is ill-equipped to bear. “The use of Western shells will be significantly more expensive, and the Armenian economy is not in a position to sustain such expenditures,” he added.

Despite these criticisms, Armenia has intensified its defence cooperation with France in recent years. Yerevan began receiving military aid from Paris in 2023, marking a strategic pivot in Armenia’s traditionally Russia-centric defence posture. In February, Armenian Defence Minister Suren Papikian met with French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu in Yerevan, where both sides identified new areas for military collaboration, including combat training, military education, joint exercises, and expert consultations.

Additionally, in June, France confirmed that Armenia had signed a contract to acquire CAESAR self-propelled artillery systems. Armenia’s Ministry of Defence also inked a cooperation agreement with Franco-German defence giant KNDS, though the specifics of the deal remain undisclosed. In December, the defence ministries of both countries finalized a comprehensive program of Armenian-French defence cooperation for 2025.

By Vafa Guliyeva