Armenia has purchased rocket launchers, phased array radars and ammunition from India, particular after 2020. Minister Safaryan also said that Armenia would like to expand cooperation on national security with India after the national security advisers of both countries met earlier this year.
Safaryan thanked India for condemning Azerbaijan’s “aggression" towards Armenia and welcomed a greater Indian role in the region.
The best answer to this question would start with putting it straight that the language of “outbreak of hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia" is not correct from the beginning. There is a concrete perpetrator and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh who has been the victim. Let me give you the broader picture and some verifiable details.
I am sure you have been following the situation in the region. After the 44-day war in 2020 in Nagorno-Karabakh, post-war humanitarian challenges remained acute, with overall situation in the region being unstable and carrying the risk of escalation.
Under false pretexts the Azerbaijani armed forces not only continuously violated the ceasefire agreed to by the November 2020 Trilateral Statement between the leadership of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, but initiated acts of aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia proper, occupying an area of around 150 sq.km of the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
Again, under false pretexts, last December the Azerbaijani side, in blatant violation of its obligations under international humanitarian law and the Trilateral Statement, went even further and blockaded the Lachin corridor – the only lifeline-road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outer world, which was further consolidated by the installation of an illegal check-point since April 23 and further – with the complete cessation of any movement, even for humanitarian aid through the Corridor since June 15. The blockade resulted in a severe shortage of food, medical supplies, fuel and other essential goods, almost depleting the resources necessary for the survival of the population. It was accompanied by deliberate disruption of electricity and natural gas supplies, further exacerbating the situation into a full-fledged humanitarian crisis.
The use of starvation as a method of warfare, depriving people of their means of subsistence, obstruction and denial of humanitarian access to UN agencies, hindering the ICRC humanitarian activities, constitute early warning signs of an atrocity crime.
Numerous international human rights organizations, independent lawyers, and genocide scholars have expressed concern about the existential threats that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are facing, pointing out the risks of mass atrocity crimes. The ICRC, the only humanitarian organization present in Nagorno-Karabakh, in its statement expressed concern that it was unable to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor.
The continuous warnings from the Armenian side that Azerbaijan, with its deliberate actions, was planning to subject Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing, did not lead to effective steps by the international community to prevent Baku's policy.
Azerbaijan totally ignored calls of international community to end the blockade and disregarded legally binding rulings of the International Court of Justice “to take all measures to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions".
It was amid these conditions that on 19 September Azerbaijan, yet again under false, cynical pretext of an “antiterrorism operation" launched another large-scale unprovoked military aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, targeting not just military, but civilian objects and settlements alike, which resulted in over 300 deaths, including civilians, and over 400 wounded.
The over 100,000 Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, facing existential threats and fearing for the lives and safety of their families, were forced to leave their historical homeland and their ancestral homes, which resulted in Azerbaijan effectively culminating its long-standing policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The policy and actions of Azerbaijan for the last 10 months, evidently demonstrated the pre-planned and well-orchestrated nature of this mass atrocity. Moreover, prior to the aggression on September 18, according to an already well-known pattern, the Azerbaijani side once again cynically / deliberately initiated a meeting with the representatives of the diplomatic corps to present its false narratives, which proved being a diplomatic preparation for its large-scale new military aggression and policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Presently, the Azerbaijani authorities have embarked on their meticulously formulated next step, namely, to continue articulating explicit territorial claims against the sovereign territory of Armenia.
India is an important pillar of global and regional stability and a major power that rightly aspires for a bigger role in international affairs. India’s successful presidency in the UN Security Council is a vivid example to this end. Our countries have quite close interests regarding regional and international issues.
Armenia values the balanced and stabilizing position of India in these times of global turmoil and we highly appreciate the statements and condemnation from the Indian side regarding the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Armenia and the blockade of the Lachin corridor, as well as India’s support to the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
You have probably followed the ministerial level visit to India in October of 2022, Armenia has participated in several defense expositions in India, and collaboration has been established with the National Defense College of India, the delegation of which too recently visited Armenia in August of this year.
At the same time our National Security Councils have started actively engaging in a dialogue, which too will boost our cooperation potential in the relevant fields. We have established a defence attache position in our embassy in New Delhi, which will also help to assess the needs and further collaboration in this area.
We would like to see India’s increased presence in Armenia and in our region at large, be it trade and business ties or others. Given your country’s fast development, it will contribute to overall stability in our region, as well as India’s strategy to engage more in its neighborhood.
As I mentioned, the delegation headed by our minister of defense Suren Papikyan visited India in October of 2022, during which the Minister had the chance to meet with his Indian counterpart Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh, during which both sides expressed satisfaction with the current level of cooperation in the field and discussed the possibilities of expanding the cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
During his working visit to India, Minister Papikyan also visited the DEFEXPO exhibition in Gandhinagar and got acquainted with the presented exhibits in the Defense exhibition.
If you have followed the news this year in March a delegation led by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, First Deputy Minister of Defense, Major-General Edward Asryan was in India on a working visit as well. The delegation participated in the Raisina Dialogue and had the chance to discuss a number of issues related to bilateral cooperation and regional security with his Indian counterpart Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan. Within the framework of his working visit, Major General Asryan also attended the discussions on Armenian-Indian defense cooperation and regional security, held by the office of the National Security Council of India, where he presented the security challenges facing Armenia.
Armenia is diversifying its defense cooperation and this is a good opportunity to further enhancing Armenian-Indian ties in this field.
On October 2 a meeting was held with the heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of international organizations accredited in Armenia. During the meeting Minister Mirzoyan presented the current situation resulting from Azerbaijan’s large-scale aggression and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh. Touching upon the willingness of various countries and international organizations to provide support in overcoming current humanitarian problems, the Minister expressed gratitude for the provided urgent support.
Deputy prime minister Tigran Khachatryan who is coordinating the Humanitarian Centre established by the government of Armenia, briefed the diplomatic corps on the steps undertaken by the Government towards identifying and addressing the priority problems of more than 100,000 Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and the activities undertaken with international partners towards the assessment of needs that will allow the development of targeted long-term assistance programs.
The issue of providing the forcibly displaced people with places of residence was considered a priority, considering as well the imperative of providing them with employment, educational, medical and social services. The Government of Armenia has been able to provide the basic requirements and address the needs at this initial stage, however, this will surely be an ongoing process as Armenians who were forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh will need long term assistance to get their daily lives back on track. We hope all our international friends and partners will find ways to contribute to this ongoing effort.
As I mentioned, our National Security Councils are actively engaged in a dialogue. The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan last visited India in August of this year, where he met with his counterpart National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the dynamics of the development of Armenian-Indian relations, discussed issues related to regional security developments, the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh, as well as, in the context of the successful mission of Chandrayaan 3, touched upon the possibilities of implementation of joint programs in the field of space industry.
Comprehensive deepening and development of cooperation with India is one of the foreign policy priorities of Armenia, and both sides are working towards developing multifaceted relations between our two friendly countries and securing tangible results and benefits for our citizens.
Last year we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and India. Whilst traditionally warm relations and mutual support between our peoples have continuously been strengthening during the past 30 years, the last 2 years were marked by a tremendous upward trend in our relations, especially when speaking of political dialogue.
India’s FM Dr. Jaishankar’s historic visit to Armenia in 2021 followed by Minister Mirzoyan’s visits to India in 2022 and this March set the ground for working out an ambitious agenda for further enhancing and strengthening cooperation, and we seem to be steadily heading towards the set goals.
The 8th session of Armenian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economy, Technologies, Science, Education and Culture of the Commission held in Yerevan on July 4, 2022 was co-chaired from the Armenian side by foreign minister Mirzoyan.
We have taken up the task of reinforcing parliamentary diplomacy as well and in 2021 a new parliamentary group of friendship with India was formed within the 8th convocation of the National Assembly. The vice Ppesident of the National Assembly Hakob Arshakyan heads the Group.
We are aiming at increasing the current volumes of our bilateral trade in the coming years, and our efforts will be focused on intensifying B2B interactions. We have exchanged several business delegations during the last few years and have explored the possibilities of further collaboration. Armenia is a frequent participants of Raisina Dialogue, and we make good use of this excellent platform to boost our various interaction with Indian partners.
On October 17-19, 2023 Armenian delegation led by Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan participated at Global Maritime India Summit for the first time and we appreciate partnering with other countries in this meeting as we strive to expand our connectivity through North-South corridors, INSTC and Persian Gulf – Black Sea transport corridor. We held productive discussions with Indian banks, logistic and infrastructure construction companies and invited Indian partners to participate in a number of infrastructure projects in Armenia.
I would like to emphasize the humanitarian dimension, covering both educational and cultural aspects. Cooperation in the field of education is indeed a successful example of Armenian-Indian partnership. About 3000 Indian students study in Armenia, mostly in medical specializations, and we are discussing opportunities to improve and expand student exchange programs.
Tourism is another field full of potential for cooperation between two historically friendly nations. Cooperation in the cultural field can as well be noted. We have a rich cultural heritage in India under state care, for which we are grateful to the Government of India. We are also working on the implementation of Armenian-Indian cultural exchange programs, as well as on the presentation of the magnificent examples of Indian culture in Armenia.
https://www.livemint.com/politics/keen-to-expand-defence-ties-with-india-says-armenian-deputy-foreign-minister-11698319234706.html