In general, military exercises are conducted not to avoid challenges and threats, but to face them. Seyran Ohanyan, leader of the opposition "Armenia" Faction in the National Assembly (NA) and former defense minister of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Wednesday—and referring to the fact that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday announced that he declined from holding the CSTO military exercises in Armenia because they could cause tension in the region.
"It is obvious that the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem still remains a threat. If the CSTO system, if the Armenian-Russian relations are also for us to face the threats from Turkey, then the simple military exercises are also for us to face the threats that come from Azerbaijan. The main purpose of military exercises is to improve the training of the troops, and within the framework of the CSTO, it is also the exchange of international experience.
Now I have a question. If we refuse the CSTO military exercises, it is equivalent to abandoning the highest peak form of training in the preparation of our armed forces where the field preparation for waging war is also improved. Second, is there an alternative or not to CSTO military exercises today? Of course there isn’t. We [i.e., Armenia] have not left the CSTO, and such measures should be used in order to increase the readiness, capabilities of our armed forces," said the ex-defense minister.
He noted that the PM's statement about creating possible tension by these military exercises indicates that the incumbent Armenian authorities have reached certain arrangements with the Azerbaijanis and Turks that they should not improve Armenia’s abilities not only within its army, but also with the military-political alliance within the framework of which Armenia works.
"If he [i.e., Pashinyan] says that [these CSTO military exercises] can create tension in the region, it means that [Azerbaijani president] Aliyev's words that ‘we should not allow the Armenian army to stand,’ that he does not accept well when the Armenian army acquires new weapons and ammunition from India, this means that this arrangement is a reality. Don't you see that the defeated [Armenian] authorities are constantly under pressure, directives?" said Ohanyan.
