We Did Not Accept It Because There Were Malfunctions: Ohanyan on the Arms Purchased in 2018

Interview with former Minister of Defense and leader of the National Assembly's "Armenia" faction Seyran Ohanyan. This is reported by hraparak.am.

- Mr. Ohanyan, it has been a year since the war, what have we gained during this time, apart from mourning and honoring the memories of the victims, when the responsible individuals are still unidentified and unpunished?

- First of all, I believe that there has not been an assessment in our state and relevant departments that should be directed towards the regional and military-political situation, our actions in line with geopolitical developments, and the issues at hand to exit from the extremist environment created by the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, the cooperation with mercenaries and its consequences on the Armenian people, especially in Artsakh. They are in dire straits, and there is still no response regarding the protection of the Republic of Armenia's borders and the work being done to strengthen them, particularly parliamentary oversight over this process. And the saddest part is that the exits from this psychological state have not yet been determined. I mean, the clarification of the numbers for the killed, missing, and captives, providing proper support to their families, and inter-agency coordination, especially regarding the actions aimed at locating the missing persons. We saw that, ignoring the full potential of negotiations, our country was drawn into war, we suffered defeat in the war, and the reasons for that defeat are disorganization and the failure to transition the full potential of the state onto a military track.

- Was disorganization the only reason for the defeat, or did treachery and conspiracy also play a role?

- You know, the theses of treachery and conspiracy always exist, and I believe that they will inevitably be revealed in due time through the efforts of an impartial investigative commission and the work of law enforcement agencies.

- So, does the opposition continue to assert that treachery or conspiracy against the state occurred under Nikol Pashinyan and his team?

- I refrain from giving that assessment; I mentioned it in my speech.

- But the opposition claims that the number one culprit and responsible person is Nikol Pashinyan, who has not been held accountable a year later. Moreover, he has been re-elected. Do we have nothing to do in this regard?

- We see every day that the current authorities are incapable of independently assessing the situation at hand. For both this situation and the defeat suffered in the war, the current authorities are responsible. They should have organized, consolidated, and mobilized the entire potential of the nation and directed it towards defending Artsakh and Armenia. On September 26, I delivered a message, in which everything was mentioned, where I particularly highlighted the feats of our military personnel, volunteers, and national defenders. And of course, the first tribute should be to the families of those brave servicemen, national defenders, and officers who sacrificed their lives to uphold the dignity of the Armenian people. Our tribute is to all the heroes, to the servicemen of the army. And, of course, the deepest sorrow is felt by those whose relatives are in captivity and on the lists of the missing. That pain is ours as well. We all wish that their fates become known as soon as possible and that the captives return home.

- The NSS has released a statement that the former head of the Armenian Army Aviation, Avetik Muradyan, has been arrested for alleged embezzlement of approximately $4.7 million in the acquisition of military supplies in 2011. You were the minister then; could it be that the arrows are being pointed in your direction?

- You know, the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia should be honest in its activities and state that, during the supply of those ammunition resources in 2011, due to them being unusable, the Ministry of Defense did not accept the ammunition, stored it until the supplying organization decided on its subsequent fate, which means either bringing corresponding documents and taking it to another location for other purposes, or selling it to other countries through transshipment. And it should indicate that the Ministry of Defense did accept those types of weapons in 2018. In other words, I repeat once again: in 2011, these were not accepted due to malfunction... I tell the people what it means to not accept, when you accept about 30 percent of the batch, and 70 percent is broken, unfit, and those are quite heavy and explosive missiles, they can only be stored in appropriate facilities. In other words, they were stored in missile and artillery weapon depots subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, with the condition that the supplying organization itself should have decided their subsequent fate. The Ministry of Defense did not accept those weapons. A criminal case has been initiated; I have been interrogated in that case, but due to the secrecy of the pre-investigation, I will not say anything more. I will only add that, as I said, the condition of storage should have been stated, and the NSS should have the courage and honesty to say that this weapon was already accepted and purchased by the Ministry of Defense in 2018.

- So you are saying that unusable weapons were purchased in 2018?

- I don't know whether they were unusable or not. We did not accept them; we accepted them for storage because there were malfunctions. What conditions were present in 2018 for accepting those, who accepted them, that is no longer my issue. That is first a matter of pre-investigation secrecy, and secondly, you can already ask the NSS or the Ministry of Defense.

- Do you think it is unreasonable for a criminal case to be opened? The statement mentions that technical characteristics were changed, formal tenders were conducted, and significantly more expensive missiles were acquired, which were then not used, causing the state damage of about $4.7 million.

- What you are talking about was executed in 2018, and you can ask who carried that out, why, and for what purpose. I have been interrogated and have provided explanations regarding my part.

- And what can you say about the official who has been charged?

- There exists the secrecy of the investigation, and the presumption of innocence; let the relevant authorities decide.