13:05,
YEREVAN, JUNE 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan revealed to lawmakers that Armenian intelligence was reporting a 30% probability of war before September 25th, 2020. But on September 25, two days before Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno Karabakh in what became known as the 44-Day War, Armenian intelligence agencies intercepted a communication between pilots of Turkish F-16 fighter jets which prompted an increased combat readiness level.
Pashinyan testified at the parliament select committee on the 2020 war on June 27.
Then-Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces General Onik Gasparyan has testified that on September 25, 2020, the Armenian intelligence agencies intercepted audio of the radio communication between Turkish F-16 pilots, who were discussing participation in an important event on the forthcoming Sunday. Gasparyan said this prompted authorities to gradually increase the combat readiness level of the military.
Parliament select committee Chair Andranik Kocharyan asked Pashinyan whether he had been briefed on the intelligence report in 2020. “Since I was elected prime minister in May 2018 and began to receive intelligence briefings, the NSS intelligence was always warning about the probability of war,” Pashinyan said, adding that different timeframes of possible attacks were being mentioned.
The information has always been available, and analysts have spoken about this, Pashinyan said.
Speaking about the September 25 report, Pashinyan said: “That information was reported to me, but I remember it mentioning tomorrow. But how likely was war according to our institutions before that moment? The assessment was 30%. And this assessment wasn’t only based on intelligence, but also other data, including based on contacts with international partners. I received another briefing also, that there is a 30% risk of war and that it could be a psychological pressure on the political authorities to resort to disproportional concessions.”