RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a very interesting statement at yesterday’s government session, which should become a topic of discussion for both the media and,
so to speak, the expert-analytical community. He spoke about the obstacles to arms supplies to Armenia and said the following verbatim: “With such provocations, Azerbaijan is trying to prevent Armenia from having the opportunity to carry out the reforms of the armed forces. Unfortunately, they also have success in the sense of relations with our allies: wherever possible, they try to prevent the supply of arms and ammunition to Armenia.
We have cases where 100 million dollars have been paid, but supply commitments to Armenia are not fulfilled, including by allied countries. This is, of course, a painful reality.” It is self-evident that the allusion is aimed at Russia. It is also understandable that it is not possible to make a more transparent review than this, and as the people would say, “they will tell the donkey the boldest word”. Therefore, what has been said is enough. And since we are talking about the first person of the country, then clarification should be introduced in this matter. The Prime Minister of Armenia, in fact, makes two accusations against Russia.
• Russia does not fulfill or at least does not properly fulfill, its obligations regarding the supply of arms to Armenia.
• Russia violates the principle of equality between two strategic allies, Armenia and Azerbaijan, by serving Azerbaijan’s interests to the detriment of Armenia’s interests.
Of course, these are very serious accusations.
Regarding the first accusation, it should be noted that, judging by what Pashinyan said, it is necessary to guess that it is not about the weapons and ammunition that Armenia simply receives, but the weapons and ammunition and weapons that Armenia has bought, that is, already he paid for them. And here it is not important whether it was bought on preferential terms, as a strategic ally of Russia or a CSTO member or not, because we are talking about the purchased product, which must be properly supplied. And if it is not supplied properly, it can affect the business reputation and reputation of the supplying country, in the sense that the latter can be considered as an unreliable partner.
The second charge is no less serious. According to that accusation, Russia violates the principle of equality between its two strategic allies, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and serves Azerbaijani interests to the detriment of Armenian interests. This means that Russia violates, in general, the accepted principles of building interstate or allied relations, because the building of allied or other kind of relations with any country cannot be directed, directly or indirectly, against a third country. And if there is such a thing, it should give serious thought to the players in the international arena, Russia’s less numerous allies should also be alert, because this camel may knock on their door tomorrow, if the Russian short-term interests in Europe demand such a thing.
And let’s state one more thing that Armenia, which after independence faithfully fulfilled its obligations as an ally of Russia, always supported Russia, protecting it during any vote and other international process, even at the expense of its reputation, did not leave the common structures and, most importantly, made a difficult decision in 2014 to enter the EAEU instead of signing the association agreement with the EU, deserved more respectful treatment. And under no circumstances should Russia put Azerbaijan and Armenia on the same plane.