Russia Is Coming to the Conclusion That It Needs to Strengthen Armenia, Military Analyst

Military-political analyst Mher Hakobyan emphasizes that the geopolitical developments of recent months, especially the West's anti-Russian initiatives, including the convening of the "Crimean Platform" summit in Ukraine and Turkey's position on the Crimea issue, have led Russia to the conclusion that it is essential to strengthen Armenia primarily in the context of its interests.

In an interview with Armenpress, Mher Hakobyan mentioned that the active communications of Armenia's Minister of Defense with Russian counterparts and especially the statements of the Russian Defense Minister regarding the rearmament and modernization of the Armenian army are encouraging and welcome.

"We hope that our interests will align only with those of Russia, and by receiving this weaponry from Russia, we will gradually strengthen, and as I like to say, when Azerbaijan slips, we will be able to take advantage of that slip," the analyst noted.

Mher Hakobyan considers the statement by Minister of Defense Arshak Karapetyan, that the ministry has refused to acquire old weaponry in favor of new and quality arms, to be ambitious. In Hakobyan's opinion, it will be quite difficult to implement this in practice.

Regarding another important issue raised by the minister, that Armenia should be able to produce its own weapons, the analyst stated that the term "weapons" is a very broad concept, as it includes both conventional firearms, which can be assembled by almost all countries, and drones, military aircraft, or heavy military equipment, the production of which is much more complex.

"Of course, ideally, all countries strive to produce their weaponry, but the concept of 'weapons' is composed of so many different types that the minister can say that we will indeed produce them. But the issue is what percentage of those weapons will meet our real military needs, whether it will prevail or not, and so on. In other words, the minister has made a very general statement, and there is a need for specification," Mher Hakobyan commented.

On August 11, during a meeting in Moscow with the delegation led by Armenia’s Minister of Defense Arshak Karapetyan, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu congratulated his Armenian counterpart on assuming the defense minister's office, and at the end of the meeting, presented a dagger to Karapetyan, stating, "We can consider that the process of supplying arms to Armenia has begun." On August 24, during a working visit to Moscow, the Armenian Minister of Defense participated in the "Army-2021" military-industrial exhibition, telling reporters that Russia is providing full support regarding the modernization and rearmament of the Armenian Armed Forces, and he has not heard the word "no" from his Russian counterparts.