Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We have turned from strategic ally into protectorate of Russia

News.am, Armenia
Jan 28 2021

We have been choosing a model since about 1996, the formula of which was the following: two states, one army. The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, said this in an interview with several media outlets on Wednesday, when asked how the combat-readiness of the Armenian can be restored now.

"In fact, the Karabakh [(Artsakh)] Defense Army was fully integrated into the Armenian army since then, it was a part of the Armenian army. (…). This gave us that strength. (…) and since 1994, that joint army was considered the most combat-ready army in the region," said the second president, adding that now the situation has changed dramatically, and this model must be changed.

According to Robert Kocharyan, the people of Karabakh must become part of the army. "We must work hard to form a new security system in Karabakh," he said.

The second president noted that if only the Russian peacekeepers ensure the security of the statehood of Karabakh, then we cannot talk about statehood. "Russian peacekeepers must ensure the peacekeeping mission, they must not allow clashes between the armed forces of Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Today, not only do they fulfill that function, but, in fact, today they are the guarantor of the security of the Karabakh Republic. "We do not have what is meant by 'statehood'" he added.

Touching upon the concealment of the losses of the Armenian army as a result of the recent Artsakh war, Robert Kocharyan said that Azerbaijan and Turkey know about the Armenian military losses the best. "(…) because all the hit [Armenian military] equipment remained in the areas that they control today; what was hit deeper has been filmed. Now, [keeping] secret from whom? The secret should not be what we lost, but what we have; that really should be a state secret," he added.

The second president said that in this war the Armenian side suffered at least $3 billion in material losses. "Now we need a new concept of what kind of army we should have. We must make up for what we lost," he added.

According to Kocharyan, Armenians had the most combat-ready army in the region, that is why they were Russia's military and political ally, but now Armenia is Russia's protectorate. "Now we have become so weak that any neighboring country can occupy us. We cannot, or do not, want to protect the borders. (…). Today, in fact, we are Russia’s protectorate in the South Caucasus because our security is provided by Russia. That government has turned us from the status of a military-political ally of a powerful country into a protectorate of that country. (…). We must do everything to return to Russia's military-political ally," Robert Kocharyan added.