RUSSIAN-AZERBAIJANI ARMS TRADE NOT SOMETHING NEW – ARMENIAN ANALYST
14:58 * 19.03.15
Political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan does not view as a new
emphasis by the Armenian side Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s
statementthat Russian arms sales to the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is a problem that needs resolving
In an interview with Tert.am he expressed hope that official Moscow
will draw relevant conclusions from the message.
“I cannot say it is something new, though the fact that the president
publicly spoke of that for the first time is really new. But I would
like to note that Armenia’s foreign minister spoke of that a few
days ago. In an interview with a foreign newspaper he said that it
is desirable for Yerevan that Russia not sell arms to Azerbaijan,”
Mr Melik-Shahanazaryan said.
According to him, the issues has for a long period been on the agenda
of Armenian-Russian relations.
“The Russian arms sales to Azerbaijan is obviously a problem. No
doubts this problem has for a long period been discussed, and the
president just publicly spoke of it.”
Asked about Russia’s possible reaction to the statement, the analyst
said he doesn’t think that the problem has been ultimately resolved.
“Because, after all, the weapons’ supply arrangement for Azerbaijan
has long been dominating the agenda, and there haven’t been any
recent deals between Russia and Azerbaijan over the supply of such
a quantity of weapons, although Azerbaijan negotiates all the time
and has recently procured a new batch. It is difficult to say for
now how Russia will behave. Anyway, Armenia, as an ally country,
has expressed its position which was a clear-cut demand addressed to
Russia to demand the halt of the weapons’ supply. I think it is in
the political interests of Russia to attend to this calls by Armenian
leaders, and I am hopeful the official Moscow will issue corresponding
conclusions,” he added.
The expert further referred to President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement
confirming the high-level mutual understanding between Armenia
and Russia.
“That’s also evidenced by the fact that Russian President Vladimir
Putin will be in Yerevan on April 24 to join the Armenian nation’s
Genocide commemoration ceremonies. But it’s too early to say that
all the problems have been resolved. Anyway Putin’s visit to Yerevan
is a good occasion as our president is to later attend the events
celebrating the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. They will have
quite a lot of time to discuss and clarify issues, so for the moment,
we only voiced our position in the negotiations, addressing the subject
matter on the agenda. I believe Russia will have time to think and
re-evaluate its policies, and there is a great hope that the problem
will find a solution when Putin is on a visit to Armenia,” he added.