Former Chief of General Staff: armed forces conduct combat operations, while war is waged by state

ArmInfo. Former Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, Colonel General Onik Gasparyan made a statement in which he commented on the assessments given by the RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the meeting of the parliamentary Inquiry Committee for Studying the Circumstances of the Hostilities Unleashed on September 27, 2020 (44-day war).

<Having listened to the explanations presented by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia in the Inquiry Committee for Studying the Circumstances of the Hostilities Unleashed on September 27, 2020, I consider it appropriate to touch on some of the issues presented and state my position and explanations. I consider it unacceptable to publicly discuss issues related to the preparation and conduct of war," the general noted. He also stressed that the Prime Minister should evaluate not only the activities of the armed forces, but also present the activities of the entire public administration system, indicating positive and negative aspects, as well as objective and subjective reasons for failures. <I will give some excerpts from the reports that I made at meetings before the war. On July 4, 2020, at the General Staff, I presented a report to the Prime Minister and members of the Security Council with the participation of the Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff and the heads of the main departments on additional measures to prepare troops to repel possible enemy aggression in the current military-political situation. Based on the results of a multilateral assessment of the current situation, I proposed to the Prime Minister to take political and diplomatic measures to prevent a war, or at least create favorable conditions for the military operations of the Armenian troops. In particular, instruct the RA MFA to develop a program of measures aimed at fundamentally improving relations with the CSTO member states (especially with the Russian Federation), and provide friendly support to other states of the region (Iran and Georgia), as well as, using the potential of the Armenian Diaspora, neutralize anti-Armenian provocations of Turkish and Azerbaijani communities in the leading countries of the world by taking military-political measures against them," the general noted.

He also said that during the meeting of the Security Council held on July 10, 2020, the Prime Minister was presented with a draft state program for the development of weapons and military equipment for 2020-2024, according to which it was necessary to acquire 8 billion dollars to solve the tasks facing the armed forces. <During the meeting of the Security Council, held in the second half of August 2020, I reported to the Prime Minister that the effectiveness of the combined arms air defense group is assessed as "weak", it is not possible to effectively suppress the enemy's air defense with existing air defense forces and means, the low ability of intelligence agencies effectively track the enemy, a weak system of operational control and communications. The number of available unmanned aerial vehicles did not allow to ensure the fulfillment of the combat tasks of the RA Armed Forces. To combat enemy UAVs, air defense, electronic warfare, and the required number of unmanned aerial vehicles are needed. Of course, they are included in the draft state program for the development of the military-industrial complex for 2020-2024, but mainly at the second stage, and the possibility of acquiring them is minimal, since it is not possible to solve them with the budget. But it is also necessary to acquire modern long-range and long-range strategic multi-purpose reconnaissance and strike UAVs>, Gasparyan emphasized.

He also indicated that he raised the issue of the need to mobilize resources through the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, clarify the production capabilities of companies, the available numbers of reconnaissance and strike UAVs and the possible timing of their provision to the RA armed forces.

The general noted that the draft state program for the development of the military-industrial complex for 2020-2024 provided for the presence of its own reconnaissance and communications satellite in geostationary orbit or the lease of an reconnaissance and communications satellite. Over the past two years, the issue of equipping the army with video surveillance systems has been 100% resolved, but there was a problem in other operational areas. At the same time, there are problems in creating the second and third layers of video surveillance systems>, the general said in a statement.

He noted that he also raised issues of engineering, logistics and medical support. In particular, the importance of modernizing the fire control systems of tanks was noted, since the equipment used in the armed forces does not meet modern standards in terms of its main tactical and technical indicators and technical condition.

The general also believes that Armenia failed to prevent the absolute qualitative and quantitative superiority of the enemy in equipment and weapons, including in the air. It failed to carry out the activities envisaged by the plan for the modernization of the army in 2018-2024. The war thus began at an unfavorable moment for Armenia.

The ex-chief of the General Staff pays special attention to military command and control - an integral part of the command and control system as a whole. "In the end, we should not forget that the armed forces are conducting combat operations, and it is the state that wages war. From this point of view, a lot of mistakes, problems and wrong steps played a fatal role," Gasparyan emphasized, adding that the state could not fully measures to ensure compliance with the legal regime of martial law. In many cases, the population blocked the way and blocked the movement of military units transferred from Armenia to the combat zone. Due to the virtual absence of a fight against war crimes, an atmosphere of impunity reigned in the country, as a result of which there were massive cases of desertion that affected the stability of the defense system. Due to weak diplomatic work and under the conditions of the blockade, the country's leadership failed to ensure regular supplies of weapons and ammunition and, thereby, compensate for the losses of equipment and weapons. Due to the lack of restrictions on the use of the Internet, the enemy managed to sow panic in Armenian society with high efficiency and undermine morally and psychologically, weakening the will to resist.

Gasparyan also spoke about the irresponsible approach of government bodies, which led to the failure of plans to attract volunteers from other countries and private military structures. And if initially the problems were of a financial nature, then on October 27, 2020, Armenia, having ratified the international convention on combating the recruitment, financing and training of mercenaries, finally failed the process of attracting a huge number of volunteers from abroad.

No proper political and diplomatic efforts were made to end hostilities on more favorable terms for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.  Explaining the circumstances of the accusations against the generals and the mistakes they made, Gasparyan notes that history does not know examples of the military performing their tasks flawlessly. To give a full assessment of the actions of the military, it is necessary to carefully understand the nuances of each military operation, all related factors, the quantitative and qualitative balance of forces and means, the compliance of the regulatory and legal framework with the principles of modern combat, etc. It is also necessary to be able to distinguish between the concepts of "flaw" and "crime".

The ex-head of the General Staff also declares total confusion in receiving and processing information coming from the front line, commenting on Pashinyan's remarks  that in many cases the General Staff denied this or that information received from the Karabakh leadership, but then was forced to recognize its authenticity.  According to the general, firstly, the exaggeration of conflicting information is typical of any war. Secondly, the leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh had sources of information in various parts of the Defense Army; moreover, thanks to the employees of the NSS of Karabakh, local authorities received information earlier than the General Staff. In fact, the general notes, a parallel system of military command and control was created, which brought confusion to the overall leadership process and made it difficult to obtain objective information. That is why Gasparyan then suggested that Pashinyan order that all information be sent to the headquarters of the Defense Army.

For all their shortcomings and omissions, the armed forces fought for 44 days against a multiple enemy, and, inflicting huge losses on the latter, gave the authorities the opportunity to make political decisions.

Separately, Gasparyan also touched upon Pashinyan's phrase that the statement of the Chief of the General Staff and 40 high-ranking officers demanding the resignation of the government, published on February 25, 2021, was made under outside influence. The former head of the General Staff assures with all responsibility that he made decisions on his own, assessing the military-political situation in the region.