New Armenia Front makes a statement on joint regional air defense system in Caucasus

The New Armenia Front has made a statement on the joint Armenian-Russian regional air defense system in the Caucasus.   
In its statement sent to ArmInfo, the New Armenia Front points out that the title of the agreement does not comply with its content. "The main qualities of the air defense system stipulated in the agreement are not characteristic of the joint military systems. In case of a joint military system, the parties join their forces and means, but in any case they retain their powers in the region (in time of peace, in time of threats and wars) and have an opportunity to use them at their own discretion, as well as to manage that system on a parity basis. As regards the specified Yerevan-Moscow agreement, it envisages creation of a system with Russia's domineering role," the statement says. 

The New Armenian Front recalls that according to the agreement, in time of peace the Armenian side will have the right to use the system at its own discretion and time of war there will be a joint use of the system.  

The Front is convinced that this imbalanced agreement deprives the Armenian side of the opportunity to independently address its security issues and independently manage the air defense system to organize the necessary defense. 

That being said, the New Armenia Front considers further integration into such a system to be dangerous and untimely before the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.   

In addition, given the experience of the previous years when Russia and the CSTO took no practical steps to defend Armenia and officially refused to defend Artsakh, saying that the agreement does not apply to Artsakh, the New Armenia Front believes that the signing of the agreement at the current stage demonstrates that Armenia abandons its obligations as the guarantor of Artsakh's security and that Armenia betrays its national interests. 

The statement also stresses the need to form an independent security system - including an air defense system - which can be done "by means of the millions robbed over the past decade, part of which is on the offshore accounts".    

To recall, on October 23, 2015, the Russian Government approved the agreement on creation of a joint air defense system with Armenia in the Caucasus region of collective security. The document was submitted for the Russian President's ratification. The Russian President announced the creation of the air defense system in November 2013. On November 11, Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered to sign agreement between Russia and Armenia on creating joint air defense system with Armenia in the Caucasus region of collective security. On December 23, 2015, Armenia's Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu signed an agreement on creation of a joint air defense system with Armenia in the Caucasus region of collective security. Some Armenian military experts think the joint air defense system is already operating, given the presence of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, Russian S-300 systems and MiG-29 planes, as well as the joint command system in the North Caucasus.