ArmInfo.In recent days, the pro-government media, telegram channels and some members of the ruling party, citing the database of the Stockholm Institute (SIPRI), have been spreading the thesis that allegedly more weapons were bought during the four years of the current government, than during the 10 years of the rule of the second and third presidents.
In the message received by ArmInfo from the Luys Foundation, was the analysis of the data published on the SIPRI portal carried out.
"It should be noted that the 'Trend Indicator Value' (TIV) of arms imports and exports is represented by a unit developed according to the SIPRI methodology, which reflects not the price of weapons, but their value. Therefore, it cannot be unequivocally stated that in terms of price it coincides with the dollar value of weapons. Even if we assume that these units correspond to the dollar value of weapons, a very interesting picture will emerge. According to SIPRI, in 2009-2018 Armenia imported $247 million worth of weapons, of which only $110 million was in 2016. It turns out that Armenia in 2011-2015 imported weapons for only $21 million, which is ridiculous, given that according to the same SIPRI, in 2018, compared to 2007, Armenia's defense spending increased by about 83%, from $280 million to $513 million.
Based on SIPRI data, it turns out that before the 44-day war, in 2018-2020, out of the $248 million spent, 141-211 million or 57-85% turned out to be ineffective (120-190 million were allocated for to known "SU" systems, 21 million for "OSA-AK" systems). In general, out of 280 million dollars spent in 2018-2021, 120-190 million dollars or 43-68% were spent on "Su" systems.
It is also clear that the bulk of the $248 million deliveries in 2019 are those provided under the $200+$100 million arms loan signed with Russia in 2015-2017, part of which was simply delivered in 2019.
In addition to credit funds, arms imports continued at the expense of defense spending. As a result, it turns out that, in fact, the RA Armed Forces began to acquire an unprecedented amount of weapons in 2015-2017 within the framework of a loan signed with Russia and by increasing defense spending.
According to SIPRI, in 1991-2021, Armenia imported only $948 million worth of weapons, while Azerbaijani President Aliyev says in almost every speech that they destroyed $4-5 billion worth of weapons during the war, and according to expert estimates, armaments losses of the Armenian side are estimated at 2-3 billion dollars.
According to SIPRI, after the 44-day war, Azerbaijan increased its military spending to $2.7 billion in 2021, about 21% more than $2.2 billion in 2020 and about 46% more than in 2019. At the same time, Armenia reduced military spending to $619 million in 2021, which is about 2% less than in 2020 and 5% less than in 2019.
This is an illogical picture, since it turns out that after a devastating war, Armenia reduces the burden of its military spending, and Azerbaijan, being the winner, having captured a huge amount of Armenian military equipment, nevertheless increases its spending," the Foundation's publication says.
It should be noted that the expenditures of the state budget of Armenia in January-February 2022 amounted to 231.2 billion drams, which is 47.6% of the adjusted figure for the first quarter. At the same time, 16.4% or 38 billion drams out of the indicated 231.2 billion drams was directed to cover the costs of the defense sector, which is 45.1% of the adjusted figure for the first quarter. It should be noted that according to the RA Law "On the State Budget for 2022", Armenia's GDP will amount to 7% by the end of the year (the other day, the Central Bank and the IMF adjusted their forecast to 1.6%, Fitch Ratings – to 1.3% – ed. note). Budget revenues in 2022 will amount to 1 trillion 947.8 billion drams (24.7% of GDP) or 17.5% (289 billion drams) more than in 2021, expenditures – 2 trillion 184 billion drams or 27.7% GDP (184 billion drams more than the figure adjusted for the current year and 334 billion drams more than the approved figure for 2021), and the state budget deficit is 236.2 billion drams. At the same time, current expenditures will amount to 23.2% of GDP or 1 trillion 843 billion drams (81 billion drams (4.6%) more than the indicator set for 2021), and capital expenditures will amount to 352 billion drams or 4.5% of GDP. At the same time, the expenditures of the defense sector of Armenia this year will increase by about 11%, or by 33 billion drams, amounting to more than 345.4 billion drams (about 15.8% of the expenditure part of the state budget).