Pashinyan Responds to Aliyev's Claims of Armenia's Militarization and Delaying Tactics

I consider the accusations to be unjust because I have repeatedly stated that every state has the right to possess a strong and combat-ready army. This was stated today by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a press conference, responding to the statements of the Azerbaijani leader that Armenia is arming itself and dragging out time.

“International law and the UN Charter consider the right to have armed forces and to self-defense as an inalienable right. This means that every country has the right to defend itself, and this right cannot be contested, as there is a well-known obligation in international law for states to protect their citizens,” he said.

According to the Prime Minister, the reforms taking place in the Armed Forces of Armenia have only one purpose. “The opposition criticizes us for the fact that over 200 square kilometers of the sovereign territories of Armenia are occupied, and that the Armenian government is not taking measures to reclaim those occupied territories. To make everything clear, I want to say that those territories – the 29,743 square kilometers of Armenia – are not subject to bargaining. However, on the other hand, we are not putting any problem of restoring our sovereignty over those territories by military means today or tomorrow, as we believe that the agreements and principles adopted provide an opportunity for us to solve our problems through peaceful negotiations, including through the delimitation process. Therefore, Armenia has no aggressive intentions,” he stated.

Addressing the accusations from Baku regarding military-technical cooperation with France or India, the Prime Minister noted that Azerbaijan, in turn, is acquiring weapons from its neighbor Italy and Pakistan, so why should Armenia not be able to procure weapons from other countries? “They say the EU and the West are arming Armenia. Azerbaijan is acquiring weapons from Slovakia, Serbia, and Bulgaria. At least three EU member countries have military-technical cooperation with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is acquiring a huge volume of weapons from Israel. We do not raise this data every day, but we know it and obtain it through intelligence,” he added.

He noted that there are expert reports indicating that the accusations from Azerbaijan actually serve as a smokescreen for the actions being carried out by Azerbaijan, attempting to conceal its territorial claims against Armenia and the acquisition of weapons from other countries. “How just is it to accuse Armenia under conditions when we are constantly hearing threats? But we are not opting for a conflictual path here; we are saying, 'Do you have concerns? We have them too. Let's establish mechanisms for reciprocal control and reduction of armaments.' That proposal has been made publicly and is in effect,” he said, adding that escalation is not the political will of Armenia, and Armenia is not interested in escalation.

Regarding the statement from the Turkish leader that Ankara participated in the recent war in Artsakh, Pashinyan stated that during the 44-day war, our servicemen and intelligence repeatedly saw Turkish military personnel, special forces, high-ranking military officials, and Turkish flags. “Let’s not forget that prior to the war, there were Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises, and throughout the war, Turkish-owned F-16 aircraft and UAVs were in the air and serviced by Turkish personnel,” he noted, while also adding that he does not want to comment on those episodes against the backdrop of the very slow dynamics observed in Armenian-Turkish relations.