MANY ARMENIAN OFFICERS WANT TO LEAVE COUNTRY AND SERVE IN OTHER COUNTRIES: MILITARY EXPERT

Today.Az

Aug 28 2009
Azerbaijan

"Certainly, both Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan and Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan are very much concerned about state of Armenian armed
forces," Azerbaijani military expert Uzeyir Jafarov said commenting
on Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement about rise in army’s
military efficiency and constant improvements in Armenian armed forces.

During a working meeting in the Defense Ministry, Armenian president
said "Armenia’s political leadership has a confident and dignified
position in the negotiating process, as such opportunities are
provided by country’s army, established structure of Armenia",
PanARMENIAN.Net reported.

"By such statements Armenian officials try to calm down their
personnel. It’s no secret that Serzh Sargsyan took up his current post
due to his "merits" during the Karabakh events. All his actions and
statements serve to emphasize once again that he is doing everything
necessary to ensure that everything will be seen in the best way both
in Armenia and Armenia-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh," Jafarov said.

"Serzh Sargsyan wished to emphasize by his statement that they
allegedly have such a strong army. Sargsyan just wanted to give
importance to his army, but it is no secret that Armenian army has
many shortcomings," he added.

"Too many points about the army bother Sargsyan. There is reliable
information that many officers simply want to leave Armenia and serve
in other countries, specifically in Russia, Belarus and Baltic States,"
he said.

"This is not without reason that Sargsyan, as commander in chief,
met with his former associates, he was also defense minister and
conveyed them some of his ideas," the expert said.

"While Armenia does not advertise disadvantages and problems of its
armed forces, but they are very serious. First, they include social
problem, and secondly, they are problems of material security. Also
there is a serious problem in relationship between the indigenous
people and those of the Armenians of Karabakh. The problem has existed
long time, but now it has deteriorated, because political and military
leadership of Armenia today mainly consists of those people who came in
the wake of the Karabakh events and idigenous inhabitants of Yerevan
does not really like it," Jafarov said.

"Sargsyan’s statement is intended solely for internal audience. I do
not think that anybody outside the country will accept this statement
seriously. Nothing depends on it. Armenia is a dependent country,
which depends on Russia to a great degree. And if some time in future
Moscow orders Armenia to free Azerbaijan’s occupied lands, no doubt,
Armenia will do it in a short period of time," he said.