45,000-MAN STRONG ARMY IS LUXURY FOR ARMENIA – DEFENSE MINISTER

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
March 9, 2006 Thursday 1:07 PM MSK

A 45,000-man strong army is a luxury for Armenia, the country’s Defense
Minister and Security Council Secretary Serzh Sargsyan said at a news
conference with Russian reporters.

“At the present time we are strengthening and reforming our Armed
Forces, based on the current military and political environment and
the fact that most of the personnel are in trenches along our borders,”
Sargsyan said.

According to him, this is the main cause of the slow reform. He said
that the Armenian Armed Forces primarily comprised motorized rifle
units and a small air force. “We operate five motorized rifle corps,
independent artillery units, and air defense brigades. We do not
have any combat arms or separate general staffs. There is a common
headquarters, exercising command and control over all units. At the
present time our Armed Forces are manned with about 45,000 servicemen,
which is too many for Armenia, featuring a population of three million.

However, we have to maintain such a force,” he emphasized.

The situation in the South Caucasus remains quite tense, and the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict is yet to be settled, the minister went on.

“Given all these we try to use the well-armed combat-capable Armed
Forces as a deterrent,” Sargsyan said.

Commenting on current cooperation with Russia, he noted that he
appreciated both military-political and other types of cooperation.

“We have the necessary legal and historical bases, and will continue
working in this sphere,” Sarkisyan said.

At the same time he emphasized that Armenian-NATO relations did not
undermine the Russian-Armenian cooperation in the least. “We have
to be aware of military arts of other states, and combat experience
of other armed forces. We do wish to cooperate with other states,
including NATO member-states. Our goal is to field armed forces,
meeting international standards, by 2015,” Sargsyan said.

He underlined once again that existence of Russian military bases in
Armenia, as well as strategic agreements, depended on Armenia’s wishes.

Armenia hosts the Russian 102nd military base, manned with about
5,000 servicemen.

Commenting on the feasibility of re-deploying Russian combat materiel
from Georgia to Armenia, Sargsyan said that materiel, deployed at
Russian military bases in Georgia and Armenia, was Russian property
and it was up to Russia where to deploy and transport its property.

“I do not think the Russian Defense Ministry needs our assistance in
this case, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that part
of the materiel would be transported to the 102nd base until further
notice,” Sargsyan said.