Former Defense Minister of Armenia Davit Tonoyan, who is now
kept in prison, has given an interview to Mediamax.
When asked what solutions he would propose to address the
current situation, Tonoyan said: “It will take at least five years to restore
the morale and the fighting capability of the Armenian Armed Forces, while the
Armenian NA elections are due in two and a half years. Now, has the Government
assessed risks regarding our foreign and defense policy in the next five to 10
years after the conclusion of the peace treaty or, even more so, in case of not
signing it? I am almost certain that such an assessment has not been
done.
As Tonoyan noted, he seriously doubts that the RA Government
has assigned the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces with its tasks and
objectives in view of the new “post-Artsakh” conditions.
“Are the reforms in the defense system going through at good
enough a pace? As I can see, it is the conscripts who continue to carry out
military duty along the 1000-kilometer long Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am
sure that the “tenfold promotion” of international military and technical
cooperation is rather urgent,” he said.
Tonoyan noted that the RA authorities also have to take into
account the “permanent interests” of Russia, Turkey and Iran in the South
Caucasus and the collective West’s “permanent ambitions” in the region.
“If the current authorities are not able to make such urgent
decisions and have decided to exhaust the remnants of the Armenian nation’s
resisting capabilities, then we should hold new elections, allowing the
Armenian people to choose the forces to whom they will entrust such issues as
ensuring the RA security, choosing allies or maintaining neutrality with regard
to that choice,” he said.
Full version of the interview in the source:
