By Preparing for War, We Have Provoked the Enemy to Go to War: Pashinyan

By preparing for war, we have provoked the enemy to go to war. This statement was made today by acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a Q&A session with government members at the National Assembly, discussing the reforms in the army since 2018.

“The enemy has seen that we are closing the page on 1980s weapons. I announced this in my New Year’s address, at Republic Square in 2020. Had they seen that our army continued to collapse, deteriorate, not to mention the myriad minor issues, like our battalion commanders not having money, for example, to change a light bulb. When a bulb burned out, battalion commanders had to ask an acquaintance for help. We have opened a budget for the daily expenses of battalion commanders. We have resolved the housing issue for war veterans, providing 5 billion drams from the state budget so that the soldier sees there is respect for veterans. Yes, we have prepared for war, and by doing so, we have provoked the enemy to go to war,” said Pashinyan.

According to him, the most important condition to avoid war is to maintain military balance with the enemy, so they have tried to restore that balance lost over the past 20 years during the last two years. “Our predecessors said, ‘We will give away the 7 regions and half of Karabakh,’ and they were told, ‘No, do not hope.’ Why did they say that? Because they saw what others were occupied with—building houses in Greek islands, hotels in Rome, and cottages in Baden-Baden. Some were building an army, while others built villas in Greek islands, hotels in Rome, and cottages in Baden-Baden,” Pashinyan said.