Deputy Chief of General Staff Laughs Off Nikol Pashinyan's Statement on Iskander

The scandalous statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan regarding the Iskander missile system, a key component of Russian military industry and armament, remains a hot topic of discussion in both Russian and Armenian media. Pashinyan claimed that the missile system had a failure rate of 10 percent during the war in Artsakh, generating widespread debate.

Yerevan.Today reached out to the Armenian military elite to understand whether there were any factual grounds for Pashinyan's assertion about the Iskander’s underperformance and if there is a governmental conclusion that warranted an internal service investigation. Such an investigation would be necessary before potentially contacting the Russian military-industrial sector that manufactures and sells Iskander.

General Tiran Khachatryan, the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, laughed heartily before responding to the question of whether it is possible for the Iskander missile to misfire by 10 percent as Pashinyan claimed. “Of course, that's impossible... how could it be, the Iskanders... with one shot... by 10 percent...? Excuse me, this is not serious (laughs), you can't talk about such things, make conclusions like this. You can't even ask questions about this weapon over the phone and make superficial evaluations—it's not serious,” he said. “I don't know who said what, but it's impossible (laughs again). I just ask not to elaborate on this topic and to avoid forming incorrect perceptions about this type of weapon.”

Regarding launching a service investigation into the alleged 'underperformance' of the Iskander, the deputy chief of the General Staff emphasized that such an action is unnecessary because there was no underperformance. The high-ranking military official urged caution when commenting on such weapons and reminded everyone of the diplomatic sensitivities that could exacerbate relations with military allies.