Former Armenian Defense Minister: Authorities  unable to create new  conditions for Armenia`s security

ArmInfo.  After the loss of Artsakh, Armenia's security has significantly weakened, and the current government is unable to create new conditions for the country's defense, as stated by the former Deputy Defense Minister,  Artak Zakaryan,  during a discussion on the topic "Long-Term  Consequences of the Upcoming Elections."

According to Zakaryan, under the current circumstances, Azerbaijan is  trying to extract everything it can from Armenia through concessions  from the Armenian authorities. "And everything they failed to obtain  through the signed trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, they  will try to acquire through the Washington agreements of August 8 of  this year. For the past five years, the country has lacked a clear  concept for ensuring security. This is due to the incompetence of the  leadership, which does not fully understand who Armenia's real enemy  is and what threats the armed forces face," the former official  believes.

As a result, according to Zakaryan, the existence of Armenian  statehood today essentially depends on the outcome of the superpower  confrontation in the South Caucasus. In this regard, the politician  emphasized the need to carry out large-scale work in the area of  defense and security in the country in the shortest possible time,  preferably within the next five years-before the end of the next  political cycle. "This requires public consolidation, as well as an  understanding of the differences between a defense-capable and a  combat-ready army, which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is currently  manipulating," the former Deputy Defense Minister believes. Among  other things, he continued, it is necessary to identify the real  issues facing the armed forces and prepare them for new challenges.  "It is also important to introduce new tactics and systems for  operational command and control of the army, as well as to evaluate  the effectiveness of acquired weapons and their compatibility with  regional forces," Zakaryan added.

The politician is confident that, in the current reality, state  investments in defense must be commensurate with the challenges  facing the country. The upcoming elections, according to Zakaryan,  also represent an opportunity to shed the dangerous, ambitious PR  campaigns of the current authorities and focus on building mutual  respect among citizens, restoring the judicial system, and  establishing healthy relations between the opposition and the ruling  party. "Today, all countries are using the current situation to their  own advantage, while Armenia continues to lose its resources and  societal division is growing. The upcoming elections could be the  last resort that will allow us to stop this shameful process for our  country," Zakaryan concluded.