Former NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan notes that “Iskander” missiles were in Armenia long time ago but it did not restrain Azerbaijan during the activities in April
– It has been several days that Azeri press reports that Baku and Moscow will jointly produce tactical missiles of a new generation of “air-air” and “air-land” class. It is noteworthy that these rumors began appearing in the press after the military parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence, when “Iskander” missiles were demonstrated, which was quite discussed in Baku and Yerevan. Does this information pursue a campaign or Armenia has an additional reason to think over?
– Russia is a major arms manufacturer and exporter and is interested in expanding its customers’ number and the list of sold weapons and military technologies. During the real military operations, any news about the successful use of Russian-made weapons is also a commercial advertising. Through the massive use of various bombs and missiles of Russian Air Force and air defense measures in Syria, also a number of weapons were advertised. The threat of resuming the war in the Karabakh conflict zone, which received its physical approval in April this year definitely fueled the arms race in the region, and the demonstration of “Iskander” during the military parade in Yerevan just became an additional incentive for it. Maybe I am wrong but as far as I know these missiles that were brought to Armenia were not new, and hardly Azerbaijan would not know about their presence at the moment of initiating hostilities in April. In other words, they knew but ignored their existence. Maybe they were confident that the Armenian armed forced would not use them. It turns out that the peaceful demonstration of missiles in Yerevan not used in combat conditions can become an incentive for the expansion of Russian-Azerbaijani military cooperation.
– Opportunely, in an interview with “Aravot”, former NKR NA MP Vahram Atanesyan told that the military parade for the 25th anniversary closed the popular topic of weapons of 1980-ies. Do you agree?
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– I would partially agree with this allegation: politically, the thesis of fighting with the weapons manufactured in the eighties was called to conceal the fact that the Artsakh Defense Army may also have Russian production weapons of the post-Soviet region. It could become a headache for the Russian side in the light of the speedy implementation of the planned rapprochement with Baku. But the majority of the weapons at the disposal of our armed forces, however, is in need of serious upgrading.
– It has been a long time that the talks about Sargsyan-Aliyev subsequent meeting do not become a reality. The visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to the region is expected in the near future. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister said a day before that the details of the meeting of the presidents will be clarified after summing up the results of the visit of the co-chairs to the region. The Armenian side says, after specifying the agenda. Are the talks on Karabakh settlement in an impasse again, especially as the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, stated that today there are no conditions for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
– The Madrid principles do not contain any real prerequisites for the settlement of the conflict, and if our ruling elite has had proper prudence and foresightedness, it would be possible to prevent not only the April war but also the number of victims in the war by the snipers would be much less than it was. I hope that the current authorities have finally come to the conclusion that it is necessary to seriously review their political, legal and diplomatic approaches, and will present fundamental and solid arguments to the mediators and Azerbaijani side on making principal changes in the negotiating agenda. So far, it seems that official Yerevan is limited to the demand for the fulfillment of the obligations obtained during the meetings in Vienna and St. Petersburg on the installation of mechanisms to investigate the border incidents and confidence building measures in the line of contact, and is not inclined to a new meeting as long as the decisions made during the previous ones are not fulfilled. This stance, certainly, allows to gain time, however, it does not still prove that the new political line is already designed and put into action by official Yerevan.
– Is the military option of Karabakh conflict settlement as expected and alarming today as it was a few months ago?
– There is no doubt that this option, unfortunately, continues to remain quite realistic, Azerbaijani side has exerted major efforts during the two decades to make its desired solution realistic – if not by negotiated then by the military way. The official Baku has managed to shape the political environment and grounds, in the event of which the possible military attack against Artsakh by Azerbaijan will be considered by the international community as a lawful and legitimate action aimed at liberation of Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia. This is a serious threat aimed against our vital national interests, and I feel regret saying that we have a large share of the blame in it.
Interviewed by Nelly GRIGORYAN
P.S. The fact that “Iskander” missile systems were brought to Armenia was unofficially told by DPA Chairman Aram Sargsyan, still last year in September, in an interview with “Aravot”.
