ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER LAUDS MILITARY-TECHNICAL COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA
Interfax
Jan 26 2009
Russia
Yerevan is very satisfied with the level of defense and
military-technical cooperation with Moscow, Armenian Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanian told Interfax.
"Defense and military-technical cooperation between Russia and Armenia
is on a very high level. The plans of 2008 have been fulfilled.
There are no major plans for 2009. The Armenian armed forces will
have internal training," he said.
"We have a plan of military-technical cooperation with Russia, and
this plan is being fulfilled on schedule. I would rather not comment
on military hardware, but we are supplying our troops within the
cooperation framework," the minister said.
Azeri claims regarding the alleged shipment of a large amount of
Russian armaments to Armenia were political propaganda, he said.
"This is another challenge aimed to prepare the [Azeri] population.
We know for sure about political propaganda in the Azeri army. Soldiers
are told that Russia has supplied military hardware to Armenia, which
means they must be prepared because the aggressors may do something
again. Russian officials have replied to the Baku accusations,"
the minister said.
"Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has signed arms deals with Israel and
Ukraine. Azerbaijan is breaching agreements that limit the amount of
armaments and wishes to shift the blame," Ohanian said.