Procedures for Sending Armenian Military Group to Syria Compliant with the Law, Ministry of Defense

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, has responded to the fact that humanitarian specialists and personnel ensuring their direct safety have been sent by Armenia to the Syrian Arab Republic.

He provided legal clarifications on his Facebook page.

“In response to the 'concerns' of certain public figures, as well as to our international partners, we offer the following legal clarifications. The Ministry of Defense presents this clarification considering the involvement of the humanitarian demining center and its humanitarian mission.

The Ministry is the authorized body of that center.

Information

• An agreement on cooperation was signed between the governments of the Republic of Armenia and the Syrian Arab Republic on August 27, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement),
• The agreement was ratified in accordance with the established procedure on February 4, 2002, and entered into force on February 14, 2002.
• The provisions of Article 2 of the Agreement stipulate that the Parties may cooperate in other areas by mutual agreement.
• According to Article 31, paragraph 3 of the Convention on the Law of International Treaties titled ‘General Rule on Interpretation’, 'Context should be considered simultaneously' including:

1. Any further agreement between the participants relating to the interpretation of the contract or the application of its provisions,
2. The subsequent practice relating to the application of the agreement that establishes the consent of the participants regarding its interpretation.

The aforementioned directly confirms the prerogative of the parties to interpret the provisions of the Agreement in a mutually acceptable manner.

Article 4 of the Agreement obliges the Parties to ensure that 'in implementing the provisions of the Agreement, the confidentiality of all exchanged information is fully maintained.'

Article 6 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on 'State and Official Secrets' establishes that 'Relations relating to the secrets of other states and the information constituting state and official secrets of the Republic of Armenia are governed by the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.'

Also, according to part 3, subparagraph ‘e’ of Article 8 of the same law, 'The Government of the Republic of Armenia takes measures to jointly use and protect information constituting state and official secrets in implementation of the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.'

Conclusion

The procedures for sending humanitarian specialists and their direct safety personnel from Armenia to the Syrian Arab Republic have been maintained in accordance with the legal provisions of the Republic of Armenia. Some of the corresponding legal acts are not subject to publication under the applicable legislation on State and Official Secrets. Furthermore, unauthorized publication of these provisions entails liability as stipulated by Article 306 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.

P.S. By the way, the first group is already in Aleppo as seen in the photo. The entire Armenian people take pride in the humanitarian assistance provided to the people of Syria and our compatriots. A few public figures need to clearly define their opinions—whether this is a mere concern or a misunderstanding,” Hovhannisyan stated.