ARMENIAN ARMY 45,000-PEOPLE STRONG
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian has said his country’s
troops are 45,000 people strong, explaining this by the current
situation in the South Caucasus region.
Touching upon the plight and structure of the three-million nation’s
forces, Sarkisian said it is common knowledge that the Armenian
military consists of infantry regiment units and the air force. The
troops are not centralized in any way and have no local headquarters.
“There is only one chief HQ overseeing all of the armed forces. This
involves commanding separate corps, artillery units and air defense
forces,” said the minister, who also serves as secretary of the
Armenian National Security Council. Sarkisian, who attended military
training in the occupied Azeri territories last week, maintained that
despite his country’s adherence to peace talks, it should improve
its military in the meantime. Sarkisian’s statements at a time of
intensifying international efforts to accelerate the peace process
once again prove that the root-cause of the long-standing dispute
is not the aspiration of Garabagh Armenians to self-determination,
but Yerevan’s occupation plans. The Armenian minister trying to cover
up his country’s policy of aggression explained his participation in
the illegal training activities by what he called Yerevan’s acting
as guarantor for the security of the self-proclaimed republic until
the Garabagh conflict is settled.