Nothing significant is happening in the army. This is what former president of the two Armenian republics (Armenia and Artsakh), leader of the opposition ‘Armenia’ bloc Robert Kocharyan said in an interview with Channel 5, Yerkir TV and Second Armenian Television TV channels.

“There are more talks about certain reforms and possible actions, but to this day, we don’t know about the casualties [of the war], the specific number of deaths and the material losses. We don’t know what programs are being carried out to restore the army and the army’s combat readiness, and I don’t think this is the number one issue for the authorities,” he said, adding that the situation remains the same even in the post-election period.

Asked for his opinion on the recent dismissals and appointments of officials, the second Armenian president asked for the name of the potential defense minister, and when he heard the name Arshak Karapetyan, he said the following: “Bravo, I congratulate us, we’re going to have a combat-ready army very soon. It’s as if the authorities are mixing the deck of cards and pulling some cards [figures] from the deck.”

Kocharyan said that, in his opinion, there is no need to treat such changes seriously and that this change is simply for the sake of change.

Asked why the incumbent authorities aren’t talking about the fate of Artsakh when the Azerbaijani government considers the issue of Artsakh resolved, Kocharyan said the following: “The President and government officials of Azerbaijan clearly state that they have solved the Artsakh issue. Have you heard any reasonable statement from the authorities? There is no concept paper, no approach. Armenia is simply going with the flow, and only God knows what will happen in the end.”