Military Exercises in Kashatagh Aim to Have a Demonstrative Psychological Impact on Armenia: Ohanyan

Military exercises have commenced on September 6 in the Kashatagh (Lachin) region of occupied Artsakh as part of military cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan. According to Seyran Ohanyan, the former Minister of Defense and leader of the 'Armenia' faction in the National Assembly, these exercises aim to exert a demonstrative psychological influence on Armenia.

“Any military exercise aims to align and enhance the readiness of its forces to address the challenges set before its Armed Forces. That is, to improve the capabilities of the command staff, the level of combat readiness, field training, and overall combat effectiveness. Exercises conducted between the two countries are also designed to harmonize the joint operational capabilities of their military structures. The strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as their recent joint operations, indicates that their long-term objective is to have a unified army prepared for common goals,” Ohanyan commented in an interview with Aysor.am.

“The fact that these exercises are taking place in the Kashatagh region also has a demonstrative psychological effect on Armenia because the ultimate goal of the Turkey-Azerbaijan tandem at this moment is the unblocking of roads, and I can say that a covert objective is also to establish a corridor through the Syunik region,” he emphasized.

According to him, through these exercises, the two countries aim to showcase their level of preparedness not only to regional countries but potentially to the Russian Federation as well, with whom Turkey and Azerbaijan have obvious long-term goals.

“In this reality, the challenge for the Republic of Armenia and its Armed Forces is to improve the capabilities and level of our forces within the framework of a unified grouping with Russia because if there is military partnership between the two countries, we must continue and strengthen our strategic partnership with the Russian Federation. We have joint operational and combat readiness plans, and long-term goals within the unified military grouping should also be validated and enhanced, and why not, we should also conduct joint exercises,” Ohanyan noted.

The leader of the 'Armenia' faction emphasized that the Armenian army must quickly implement its activities according to a development plan.

“The leadership of the Republic of Armenia, whether capable or incapable, must quickly restore international cooperation not only with the Russian Federation but also on the platform of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship and other platforms,” he stated.

In response to the question of whether there is a provocation in all this, Seyran Ohanyan mentioned that if these exercises are not declared, then they have long-term hidden objectives. “I believe that at this moment, when the leadership of Azerbaijan is promoting the thesis of peace with the Republic of Armenia, which is very fluid and cunning, conducting such exercises could aim to accelerate the advancement of that peace thesis. However, I have always said that even if a final peace treaty is signed with Azerbaijan, that peace will not be achieved. Peace is not begged for; it is imposed,” he added.