Former Minister of Defense of Armenia David Tonoyan gave an interview to Mediamax, and reflected on his statements before the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war, the course of the war, and the reasons for the defeat of the Armenian side.

Chief of General Staff Onik Gasparyan stated that at the meeting of the Security Council on June 12, 2020, he said that “our adversary is not only Azerbaijan, but also Turkey. Therefore, Armenia cannot effectively resist the combined military potential of these states, and it is necessary to direct all the political and diplomatic potential to avoid or at least postpone the war.” What was your position at that Security Council meeting?

The coordinated and synchronized approach of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff was reported at the meeting.

In that case, how adequate do you think the PR campaign of Tavush July battles was, which could not but cause additional concern to Azerbaijan and Turkey?

The “PR-campaign” and “additional concern to Azerbaijan and Turkey” were the last things representatives of the Armed Forces were interested in. But the unbalanced attitude of Aliyev and the Azerbaijani elite, followed by rather harsh “brotherly” assurances of Turkey to punish Armenia for “not knowing the regional realities and destabilizing the situation”, was unexpected for us.

Onik Gasparyan also stated that on the fourth day of the war he noted that it was necessary to take measures to stop the war within two or three days, otherwise we would have more unfavorable conditions for the negotiation process every day that follows. What was your position?

The Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces have honestly and selflessly done more than it was possible in order to win. And the analysis made on the basis of General Staff’s cold calculations was coordinated with me.

There are many publications and evidences that the situation in the Defense Army was chaotic, and unauthorized people participated in the planning of military operations. How could a situation like this occur?

I believe that when the internal political situation stabilizes, an investigation will be launched and all similar questions will get their answers.

What was your biggest personal omission during this war?

During the war, I failed to overcome the uncertainty in PM-Defense Ministry-General Staff command order and the obstacles arising from it. In particular, these are issues related to mobilization, the role and functions of the Security Council, the functions and official relations between the Armenian Armed Forces, the Defense Army and President of Artsakh, the organization of self-defense in Artsakh and the evacuation of the population.

Under the new Constitution adopted in 2015, the Minister of Defense is actually excluded from the process of planning and conducting military operations during the war, since these powers are vested in the Commander-in-Chief and the Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces. After the constitutional amendments, an attempt was made to settle this ambiguity in the law “On Defense”, which, as life has shown us, was not enough.

Nevertheless, as I said in my November 20 address, I am ready to assume my share of responsibility.