Azerbaijan Purchases 49% Stake in Influential Caucasian Internet Provider, Abovyan Reports

Arman Abovyan, a member of the Armenian Parliament from the Prosperous Armenia Party, wrote on his Facebook page: “Today, I urgently submitted an official inquiry to Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Artakyan, as there is information circulating online and in the press indicating that Azerbaijan has purchased a 49% stake in a major and influential internet provider in the South Caucasus (Caucasus Online), which also supplies internet connectivity to Armenia.

I am shocked to read this news and understand that if this information is confirmed, then the informational security of the Republic of Armenia will be seriously threatened. Yes, a 49% stake is not a decisive share, but it places a significant lever of influence in the hands of Azerbaijan against us.

One should not read this danger as exaggerated; only those completely detached from reality can believe that there is no danger when our enemies own half of the company providing us with internet. At the very least, the Turks and Azerbaijanis can monitor internet traffic to Armenia at any moment and be aware of the volume of that traffic. Anyone working in the security sector will explain to you the dangers.

And one should not blame the Georgian side; they have done what they deemed necessary, and if this information is confirmed, then the only culprits are the officials in the government who, 'asleep in the ear of a donkey,' allowed such dangerous developments in the field of the Republic of Armenia’s informational security.

At a minimum, this transaction should have been prevented at any cost, even if it meant buying out the company. These are the costs that simply had to be incurred.”