DEFENSE MINISTER OF ARMENIA SEIRAN OGANYAN: RUSSIA IS OUR STRATEGIC ALLY HISTORICALLY
Irina Pavlyutkina

WPS Agency
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 23, 2009 Monday
Russia

DEFENSE MINISTER OF ARMENIA SPEAKS ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARMED FORCES
AND THEIR INTERACTION WITH RUSSIAN ARMY; Interview with the Defense
Minister of Armenia, Seiran Oganyan

Question: What are the armed forces of the republic like now?

Oganyan: Today our army represents modern, well trained, armed and
supplied armed forces having a rich experience of combat operations and
capable of defending the security, territorial integrity and safety of
the borders of Armenia. The armed forces are supervised by the Defense
Minister and day-to-day command is a prerogative of the General Staff
currently headed by Colonel General Yury Khachaturov. The army has
46,776 servicemen now.

Military reforms include all most important elements and areas that
will provide for formation of the army complying with requirements
of the 21st century through modernization and transformation. We
already train personnel of the armed forces practically fully on our
own. Up to 300 graduates of the military institute of the Defense
Ministry reinforce the army annually. The military institute trains
mechanized infantry, artillery and tank servicemen. The military
aviation institute trains up to 50 specialists of air defense,
communication and technical support of aircraft. Military doctors
are trained by the military medical department of the Yerevan state
medical university. Hundreds of graduates of foreign higher educational
institutions (by 90% Russian) reinforce the national armed forces
annually too.

Question: You mentioned the training of military specialists in
Russian higher educational institutions. What are other lines of
military cooperation between Armenia and Russia?

Oganyan: The agreement and legal base of relations between Armenia and
Russia is the most saturated of all such bases in relations of Armenia
with other countries. More than 160 interstate, intergovernmental and
interagency agreements have been signed and are in effect. Speaking
about the Armenian-Russian military and military technological
cooperation, I can say that it coincides with the interests of our
counties and serves as reliable guarantee of regional security. It is
embodied by the 102nd Russian military base on our territory. The air
defense and aviation units of the Russian military base have joint
combat duty with air defense and aviation units of Armenia. Thus we
fulfill an important task of providing safety of the air borders of
the CIS.

The 102nd Russian military base is a part of the united group of forces
of Armenia and Russia established on the territory of Armenia. We
do the necessary joint operational planning. In 2009, we took more
than 70 measures practically in all areas of military and military
technological cooperation. The joint command staff exercise Border-2008
was outstanding according to its scale.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress